Question: For land registration, if the seller does not have the registered document but has only the patta in his name, will it do? The particular piece of land I hope to buy is a clear title. I verified the same at the registrar office. The Encumbrance Certificate and the patta are valid. The seller mentioned that the land was from his ancestor and no transactions in connection with the plot have happened since 1960. Can I go ahead with the deal? Would the patta alone do to have the land registered in my name? Can the patta be treated as a parent document in this case?
Siva
Answer: The devolution of title has to be examined to answer this query. Patta is a document evidencing possession. If the original allotment of land was from the Government by way of assignment, the said patta can be treated as a parent document, provided the other ancillary documents (such as Chitta, Adangal Extract, Land Tax (Kist) Receipts) are in alignment. In any event, in the absence of any registered document in the history of title, the patta and other documents mentioned above collectively should be sufficient to enable further transactions in respect of the property.
