(As amended by S. R. O. No. 620/2025 published in K. G. Ext. No. 2001 dt. 28/05/2025 - Amendments in Rule 30, Form IC, Form ID, Form IE Transfer of Registry (Amendment) Rules, 2010)   In supersession of the rules laid down in the Travancore & Cochin Land Revenue Manuals, the Madras B. S. O. No. 31 and the unified rules issued by the Travancore-Cochin Government in their Notification R. Dis. No. 7449/52/Rd. dt. 17/09/1953 relating to the transfer of revenue registry, the Government of Kerala hereby issue the following unified rules for the Transfer of Registry.

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S.3

Transfer of Revenue Registry takes place either-

(1) by voluntary action of the owners.

(2) by virtue of decrees of Civil Courts or by Revenue sales, or
 
(3) by succession.

S.4

For effecting the transfer of registry, the following procedure shall be followed:--

(a) Voluntary transfer of title.- (i) In all cases of absolute transfer of title over a land, by sale, partition, gift, agreement etc., the party or parties thereof shall record in the application in Form I appended to these rules, their consent for the transfer of registry of the survey numbers involved in the transfer. A true copy of the document by which the transfer is proposed to be effected, shall be furnished on the reverse of the form. In the case of lengthy documents additional sheets on plain paper may be used in continuation of the form. This application shall be presented to the Registering Officer along with the document to be registered.

(ii) The copy of the document furnished on the reverse of the application form shall be compared with the original document in the Registry Office and certified as true copy by the Registering Officer.

(iii) After the admiss

S.5

It is open to any party desiring transfer of registry in cases without sub-division or in any case arising out of succession, which is uncontested, to apply in writing in Form 1A to the Village Officer with attested copies of relevant documents. All other applications for transfer of registry shall be submitted in writing in Form 1A to the Tahsildar with attested copies of relevant documents.]

S.6

The T.R. applications received from the Sub Registry office as per Rule 3(a)(viii) above shall be registered in Form VI(C) and Transfer of Registry effected by the Village Officer within 15 days, complying with the rules existing from time to time.

(b) The Village Officer shall communicate the party concerned within the one month, if the T.R. cannot be effected.]

S.7

The transfer of registry cases shall bear consecutive serial number for each calendar year.

S.8

⁹[(1) The Villager Officer shall prepare statement in Form 'A' and forward to the concerned Tahsildar within 15 days of the receipt of application.]

(2) (i) A record of the reports sent to the Tahsildar under Rule 3(c) shall be maintained in the Village in Form VIA. The Transfer of registry cases received for report will be entered in a register in Form VIB. The cases shall be registered in the order of their date of receipt and 'A' form statements prepared in the serial order by the Village Officer. The pending cases at the end of a financial year shall be carried over to the new register. The Revenue Inspector shall check the entries in the new registers and furnish the following certificate on the first page of the first Vol. of the new Register:--

"Certified that all cases in the registers for the previous years pending on 31st March .................................... have been brought over to his register".
       

S.9

¹¹[The Village Officer shall prepare and submit the statement or report under Rule 7 to the Tahsildar within 15 days of the receipt of the application from the party.]

S.10

The cases received ¹²[x x x x] in the Taluk Officer with the report of the Village Officer shall be classified and dealt with according to the following instructions.

(a) Uncontested cases.

(b) Contested Cases.
 
(c) Cases involving sub-divisions.

S.11

Uncontested cases may be of two kinds,--

(1) those which can be disposed of without further enquiry.

(2) those in which a decision cannot be taken without conducting a further enquiry by the Deputy Tahsildar or Tahsildar.

Note.- Cases of sale and other absolute transfer of land mentioned under Rule 3(a) and (b) will fall under the 1st category. In such cases no enquiry is necessary and they shall be disposed of by the Deputy Tahsildar of the Taluk.

(ii) The cases coming under the second category are transfers due to inheritance acquisition of title by adverse possession etc. for which the parties might have applied under Rule 4. Most of such cases are usually uncontested but in all such cases notices should be issued to the parties interested, if any, inviting objections, to the transfer of registry. The objection should be preferred within 15 days of the service of the notice. Copies of the notice shall also be published on the Notic

S.12

All contested cases shall be enquired into and disposed of by the Tahsildar, following the procedure laid down in Note:- (ii) to Rule 10.

S.13 The cases which involve sub-division of the plots may be of the following types.

(1) Those in which the documents of transfer specifically mention the area of the land conveyed and give details of measurements of the land or details of the boundaries which would facilitate the location of the land on the ground.

(2) Those in which the documents mention only the area but do not give either the details of the measurements of the land or boundaries.

(3) Those in which the documents do not mention the area but give details of measurements or boundaries.

(4) Those in which the documents give only the area but no other details to enable the location of the land on the ground.

Transfer of registry in the above cases shall be ordered only if it has been possible to effect sub-division on the ground. On receipt of the file from the Taluk Surveyor or the Revenue Inspector as the case may be and after making necessary enquiries the Tahsildar may either accept or reject the proposals. In case of acceptance, the orders shall be provisional as the

S.14

As soon as the cases are finally disposed of, necessary entries shall be made in the Taluk Register of transfer of registry applications.

S.15

In conducting enquiries in the case for transfer of registry, the following general principles shall also be observed.

(1) When the transfer of registry is sought for under the authority of a decree of a Civil Court or revenue sale, or registered document and if the transferor is not the registered pattadar, the production of the document with the tax receipt or with a certificate from the Village Officer as to the possession of the property and payment of land lax thereof will be sufficient evidence regarding the bonafides of the application provided that, the series of transactions connecting the transferor with the pattadar are ascertained and recorded.

(2) When the transfer of registry is due to inheritance, a summary enquiry as to who is the nearest legal heir of the deceased pattadar according to the law of inheritance applicable to the parties concerned and a certificate from the Village Officer as to the possession and payment of tax or the production of the ta

S.16

With the help of the details furnished in the statement in Form 'A' prepared by the Village Officers and such further information as the Tahsildar may receive from parties and village officials at the time of enquiry regarding the fact of possession and enjoyment, payment of tax and other particulars, the Tahsildar shall determine the person in whose name the transfer of registry shall be made. No case shall be rejected solely for the default of appearance of the parties as it is the immediate concern of the Land Revenue Department to keep the thandaper accounts (Chitta) upto date and bring into it the names of the real land-holders who shall be held liable for the payment of Government revenue due on the land.

S.17

The summary enquiry and decision thereon is only an arrangement for fiscal purposes and does not affect the legal rights of any person in respect of the lands covered by the decisions in transfer of registry cases. The question of legal rights is always subject to adjudication by Civil Courts and pattas will be revised from time to time in accordance with judicial decisions.

S.18

Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, it shall be competent for the Tahsildar to take up and dispose of any transfer of registry case which under these rules could be disposed of by a Deputy Tahsildar or by a Revenue Inspector. Orders in a transfer of registry case shall be communicated promptly to the Village Officer and to the parties concerned and shall be given effect to in the Village Accounts. A patta in the prescribed form under the signature of the Tahsildar, in accordance with the decision, shall be issued to those who apply for it.

S.19

(i) An appeal against an order passed by ¹⁴[the Village Officer or] the Revenue Inspector shall lie to the Tahsildar and an appeal against the order passed by the Tahsildar or the Deputy Tahsildar shall lie to the Revenue Divisional Officer. Appeals shall be presented within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order. In computing the period of 30 days, the time taken for obtaining a copy of the order shall be excluded.

(ii) The appellate authority may admit an appeal after the expiry of the prescribed period of 30 days if he is satisfied that the appellant has good and sufficient cause of not preferring the appeal within that period. In such cases, the authority who admits the appeal shall record the fact of having condoned the delay.

(iii) No appeal shall be admitted unless accompanied by the original of a certified copy of the order appealed against. (The certified copies shall be prepared on stamp paper and signed by competent authority). No officer s

S.20

It shall be open to the District Collector if sufficient grounds exist to transfer a Transfer of Registry Appeal Case pending before a Tahsildar or Revenue Divisional Officer in his District to the file of his Personal Assistant for disposal or take it on his own file and dispose it of himself.

S.21

(i)] It shall be open to the Board of Revenue, if sufficient grounds exist, to take on its file and dispose of any transfer of registry case pending before a District Collector ¹⁷[or otherwise any decision or order passed by the District Collector, within a period of three months from the date of such decision].

¹⁸[(ii) The Board of Revenue may, if it is satisfied that sufficient grounds exist, either on its own motion or otherwise revise, cancel or alter any decision or order passed by any authority subordinate to it within a period of ten years from the date of such decision.

(iii) The Government may, if it is satisfied that sufficient grounds exist, either on its own motion or otherwise revise, cancel or alter any decision or order passed by any authority subordinate to it at any time or otherwise any decision or order passed by the District Collector, within a period of three months from the date of such decision.]

S.22

The appeal and revision petitions shall be duly stamped.

S.23

As soon as orders are passed on a transfer of registry case, the Tahsildar shall cause the necessary entries to be made in the Thandaper accounts (Chitta) of the village. In the cases in which the decision is subsequently cancelled or altered in revision under Rule 19 or 20 the Tahsildar shall order the necessary corrections being made at once in the thandaper accounts (Chitta). A patta in the prescribed form under the signature of the Tahsildar, in accordance with the decision shall be issued to those who apply for it.

S.24

The number in the Thandaper account (Chitta) shall run consecutively except in the cases in which the transferee is already a Thandaper holder.

S.25

The Tahsildar shall during his inspection of the village office satisfy himself that the Thandaper accounts (Chitta) have been brought upto date according to the decisions in transfer of registry cases.

S.26

At the close of every year, the Tahsildar shall record a certificate in the last volume of the Thandaper account (Chitta) to the effect that it has been brought upto date according to the decisions in all transfer of registry cases.

S.27

 Patta Nos. which have fallen blank in the Thandaper or chitta accounts as a result of giving effect to the changes on account of transfer of registry shall be retained as such, for a minimum period of one year from the year in which they fell blank and such members shall be filled in after that period.

S.28 Transfer of title by succession.

Under this class of transfers, all cases of change of registry necessitated by the death or prolonged absence for more than seven years of the registered holder will be disposed of.
 
(i) Succession by heirship.- In dealing with claims to succession by heirship, if the succession is not disputed, the Tahsildar may direct the transfer of registry either at once or after due enquiry. If the succession is disputed, he should hold a summary enquiry as to who has the right to succeed to the property of the deceased registered holder according to the principles of the law of succession which governs the case and give notice to all persons known or believed to be interested in the manner provided in Note (ii) to Rules 10 to the effect that the registry will be made in the name of the person found to be entitled, unless a declaration is filed, within three months from the date of the notice, by any person objecting to the registry, stating that he has instituted a suit in

S.29 Transfer in favour of person proving title by adverse possession for 12 years or more.

Where parties who have no documents of title are shown in a summary enquiry to have been in actual, continuous and uninterrupted possession as reputed owners for 12 years or more transfer of registry may be made after notice, etc. as provided in Note (ii) to Rule 10. The action contemplated in this paragraph may be taken by the revenue officers either on their own motion or on the applications presented by the parties concerned.
Payment of revenue as evidenced by the production of kist receipts or by the testimony of the village officers may be taken as proof of possession, but the absence of such proof shall not be considered entirely to invalidate the claim and oral evidence of possession may be accepted.

S.31 Procedure for effecting the transfer of registry in digitally surveyed villages through the Integrated Land Information Management System.--

(1) For the purpose of this rule,

(a) 'auto - mutation' means the automated transfer of registry effected in terms of this rule;

(b) 'digitally prepared pre-mutation sketch' for a land parcel means a sketch prepared and issued in the Integrated Land Information Management System (ILIMS) in a digitally surveyed village,

(i) prior to the registration of any instrument under the Registration Act, 1908 (Central Act 16 of 1908) that involves the transfer of land situated in such village; or

(ii) prior to the transfer of registry of land situated in such village that does not involve the registration of an instrument as above, as in the case of transfer of land on account of succession including operation of will, land assignment, adverse possession,
relinquishment, escheat, vesting of land by virtue of law, takeover of excess land, land acquisition and resumption;

(c) 'digitally surveyed village' means a village where land survey records are prepared

S.32

Form of application for transfer of revenue registry FORM I FORM TO BE USED WHEN THE APPLICATION IS PRESENTED TO A REGISTRAR OR SUB-REGISTRAR OF ASSURANCE I......... son of.............. residing at............... request that the revenue registry of the lands referred to in the schedule attached hereto and registered in the name of.............may be transferred to the name of.......... son of............ residing at............... (Signature of the transferor) I, the aforesaid ................... consent to have the revenue registry of the lands entered in the schedule transferred to my name. (Signature of the transferee S.33 FORM IA FORM TO BE USED WHEN THE APPLICATION IS PRESENTED TO REVENUE OFFICERS I/We ...... son/sons ...... residing in the Village of..... in .... Taluk, do hereby request that the land specified in the schedule on the reverse and registered in the name of .......... be transferred in the name of............. son of........... residing in the village of....... Dated (Signature of Transferor) S.34 1 [FORM 1B