Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964
The Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 tests revenue administration: survey and settlement, record of rights, assessment and collection, and appeals.
Core
- The State is divided into revenue districts, divisions, taluks and villages.
- Survey and settlement fix boundaries, survey numbers and land revenue.
- Record of rights (RTC/pahani) under s.128 records the holder, nature of right, area and revenue. It carries a rebuttable presumption of correctness.
- Mutation updates the record after transfer, succession or partition. It does not by itself confer or extinguish title.
- Land revenue is assessed on the holding; default attracts recovery as arrears of land revenue.
- Revenue officers include the Tahsildar, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal.
- Appeals and revisions lie under the Act; limitation and deposit requirements matter.
Worked example
A sells land to B, and B obtains mutation in the RTC. A's creditor later claims the land. Reasoning: mutation is a fiscal entry, not an adjudication of title. The creditor must establish his right in a civil suit; the RTC entry does not decide ownership.
Traps
- Treating the RTC as a title deed.
- Missing appeal deadlines.
- Asking a revenue court to decide complicated title disputes.
- Confusing survey numbers with khata entries.