Chapter IV -Records

Record-of-rights and documents included therein. (1) Save as otherwise provided by this Chapter, there shall be a record-of-rights for each estate. (2) The record-of-rights for an estate shall include the following documents, namely:- (a) Statements showing, so far as may be practicable: (i) the persons who are land-owners, tenants or assignees of land revenue in the estate or who receive any of the rents, profits in the estate, or who are entitled to the produce of the estate, or to occupy land therein; (ii) the nature and extent of the interests of those persons, and the conditions and liabilities attaching thereto; and (iii) the rent, land revenue, rates, cesses or other payments due from and to each of those persons and to the Government; (b) a statement of customs respecting rights and liabilities in the estate; (c) a map of the estate; and (d) such other documents as the Financial Commissioner may, with the previous sanction of the State Government prescribe. (2-A) The record of-rights for sub-estate shall include the documents mentioned in clauses (a), (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) of this section.

(1) When it appears to the State Government that a record-of-rights for an estate does not exist, or that the existing record-of-rights for an estate requires special revision, it may by notification direct that record-of-rights be made or that the record-of-right be specially revised, as the case may be. (2) The notification may direct that record-of-rights shall be made or specially revised for all or any estates in any local area. (3) A record-of-rights made or specially revised for an estate under this section shall be deemed to be the record-of-rights for the estate, but shall not affect any presumption in favour of the State, which has already arisen from any previous record-of-rights. (4) The record-of-rights to be made or specially revised shall be done in the manner prescribed. (5) When a District or a part thereof for making of special revision or record-of-rights and assessment of land revenue, is in process, the duty of preparing and maintaining of record-of-rights shall be transferred to the Settlement Collector who shall exercise all the powers of the Collector under this Act. (6) When the record-of-rights are made or specially revised, the same shall be published within the estate in the manner prescribed. (7) If any party interested to filed objections, against any entry in the records within a period of 30 days, the same shall be decided by the Revenue Officer within a period of one month and after giving effect to the orders of the Revenue Officer, if any, in the record-of-rights of the estate, the record shall be finally published within the estate in the manner prescribed. (8) After the final publication of the record-of -rights under sub-section (7), the settlement patwari shall supply to every persons a copy of measurement Jamabandi and Tatima of newely measure Khasra numbers of his holding free of cost: (9) As soon as the work of making or special revision of record-of rights and assessment of land revenue of an estate is over, a notification shall be issued declaring the making or revision of record-of-rights, as the case may be, to be closed.

Periodical records. (1) The Collector shall cause to be prepared by the Patwari of each estate yearly, or at such other intervals as the Financial Commissioner may prescribe, an edition of the record-of-rights amended in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. (2) This edition of the record-of-rights shall comprise the statements mentioned in sub-section (2) clause (a), of section 32 and such other documents, if any, as the Financial Commissioner may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, prescribe. (3) For the purposes of the preparation of the periodical record under this section, the Collector shall cause to be kept up by the patwari of each estate a register of mutations and such other registers as the Financial Commissioner may prescribe.

Making of that part of the periodical record which relates to land owners, assignees of revenue and occupancy tenants. (1) Any person acquiring by inheritance, purchase, mortgage, gift or otherwise, any right in an estate as a land-owner etc. assignee of land revenue, or tenant having a right of occupancy, shall report his acquisition of the right to the patwari of the estate. (2) If the person acquiring the right is a minor or otherwise disqualified, his guardian or other person having charge of his property shall make the report to the patwari. (3) The patwari shall enter in his register of mutations every report made to him under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) and shall also make an entry therein respecting the acquisition of any such rights as aforesaid which he has reasons to believe to have taken place, and of which a report should have been made to him under one or other of those sub-sections and has not been so made. (4) No Revenue Court shall entertain a suit or application by the person so succeeding or otherwise obtaining possession until such person has made the report required by this section. (5) A Revenue Officer shall from time to time inquire into the correctness of all entries in the register of mutations and into all such acquisitions as aforesaid coming to his knowledge of which under the foregoing sub-sections, report should have been made to the patwari and entry made in that register and shall in each each case make such order as he thinks fit with respect to the entry in the periodical record of the right acquired. (6) Such an entry shall be made by the insertion in that record of a description of the right acquired and by the omission from that record of any entry in any record previously prepared which by reason of the acquisition has ceased to be correct. (7) The Revenue Officer shall afford an opportunity of being heard to all the interested parties and also all the co-sharers in a joint holding in a mutation proceedings. After proper identification of the parties he shall get affixed signatures of all the parties present. If any party is illiterate, then the the Revenue Officer shall get the thumb impression of such party affixed on the foil (Parat sarkar) of the mutation.

Making of that part of the annual record which relates to other persons. The acquisition of any interest in land other than a right referred to in sub-section (1) of the last foregoing section shall-- (a) if it is undisputed, be recorded by the patwari in such manner as the Financial Commissioner may by rule in this behalf prescribe; and (b) if it is disputed, be entered by the patwari in the register of mutations and dealt with in the manner prescribed in sub-sections (5) and (6) of the last foregoing section: Provided that no entry in respect of the Government land shall be recorded under clause (a) by the Patwari except under the orders of the State Government or of a Revenue Officer not below the rank of the Collector.

Restrictions on variations of entries in records. Entries in records-of-rights or in periodical records, except entries made in annual records by patwaries under clause (a) of section 36 with respect to undisputed acquisitions of interest referred to in that section, shall not be varied in subsequent records otherwise than by- (a) making entries in accordance with facts proved or admitted to have occurred;

Mutation fees. (1) The State Government may fix a scale of fees for all or any classes of entries in any record or register under this Chapter and for copies of any such entries.\n(2) A fee in respect of any entry shall be payable by the person in whose favour the entry is made.

Any person neglecting to make the report required by section 35 within three months from the date of his acquisition of a right referred to in that section shall be liable, at the discretion of the Collector to a fine not exceeding five times the amount of the fees which, would, have been payable according to the scale fixed under the last foregoing section if the acquisition of the right had been reported immediately after its accrual.

Any person whose rights, interests or liabilities are required to be entered in any record under this Chapter shall be bound to furnish, on the requisition of any Revenue Officer or Village Officer, engaged in compiling the record, all information necessary for the correct compilation thereof.

All mines of metal and coal and all earth oil and gold washing shall be deemed to be the property of the Government for the purposes of the State and the State Government shall have all powers necessary, for the proper enjoyment of the Government’s rights thereto.

Presumption as to ownership of forests, quarries and waste lands. (1) When in any record-of-rights completed before the eighteenth day of November, 1871, it is not expressly provided that any forest, quarry, unclaimed, unoccupied, deserted or waste-land, spontaneous produce or other accessory interest in land belongs to the land-owners, it shall be presumed to belong to the Government.\n(2) When in any record-of-rights completed after that date it is not expressly provided that any forest or quarry or any such land or interest belongs to the Government, it shall be presumed to belong to the land owners.\n(3) The presumption created by sub-section (1) may be rebutted by showing-\n(a) from the records or report made by the assessing officer at the time of assessment; or\n(b) if the record or report is silent, then from a comparison between the assessment of villages in which there existed, and the assessment of villages of similar character in which there did not exist, any forest or quarry, or any such land or interest;\nthat the forest, quarry, land or interest was taken into account in the assessment of the land revenue.\n(4) Until the presumption is so rebutted, the forest, quarry, land or interest shall be held to belong to the Government.

(1) Whenever, in the exercise of any right of the State referred to in either of the two last foregoing sections, the rights of any person are infringed by the occupation or disturbance of the surface of any land, the State Government shall pay, or cause to be paid to that person compensation for the infringement.\n(2) The compensation shall be determined as nearly as may be in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1 of 1894).

Presumption in favour of entries in records-of-rights and annual records. An entry made in a record of rights in accordance with the law for the time being in force, or a periodical record in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter and the rules thereunder, shall be presumed to be true until the contrary is proved or a new entry is lawfully substituted therefor:\nProvided that notwithstanding anything contained in this section any entry made in the areas comprised in Himachal Pradesh immediately before 1st November, 1966 during the period between the first day of April, 1948 and the first day of April, 1956 in records of rights or in a periodical record whereby the land is shown as under self cultivation shall not be presumed to be true:\nProvided further that the record-of-rights and periodical record, prepared by means of computerisation in the prescribed manner shall be presumed to be true and shall be deemed to have been prepared under this chapter.

If any person considers himself aggrieved as to any right of which he is in possession by an entry in a record -of-rights or in a periodical record, he may file a suit for a declaration of his right under Chapter VI of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (Act No. 47 of 1963).

Powers to make rules respecting records and other matters connected therewith. The Financial Commissioner may make rules-\n(a) prescribing the language in which records and registers under this Chapter are to be made;\n(b) prescribing the form of those records and registers, and the manner in which they are to be prepared, signed and attested;\n(c) for the survey of land so far as may be necessary for the preparation and correction of those records and registers;\n(d) for the conduct of inquiries by Revenue Officers under this Chapter; and\n(e) generally for the guidance of Revenue Officers and village officers in matters pertaining to records and registers mentioned or referred to in this Chapter.\n(f) for computerisation of record-of-rights and periodical records.

(1) The Financial Commissioner, may direct that a record of rights be made for any group of neighbouring estates instead of separately for each of the estates.\n(2) The provisions of this Chapter with respect to record-of-rights and periodical record for an estate shall then, so far as they can be made applicable, apply to a record of rights and periodical record for a group of estates.