Property Mutation (Dakhil-Kharij) in Jharkhand

What is dakhil-kharij (property mutation) in Jharkhand?

Property mutation in Jharkhand is called dakhil-kharij: "entry and deletion": because that is literally what happens. The seller's jamabandi is closed or reduced to the extent of the land transferred, and a fresh jamabandi is opened in the buyer's or the heir's name. The work belongs to the Department of Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms, Government of Jharkhand, and the deciding authority at the ground level is the Circle Officer (Anchal Adhikari) of the anchal.

Jharkhand runs this online-first through JharBhoomi, the state land records portal at jharbhoomi.jharkhand.gov.in. JharBhoomi carries the online mutation application, the mutation application status tracker, viewing of Register-II (the jamabandi register) and the khatiyan (record of rights from the survey settlement), online lagan payment, and information on DCLR appeal proceedings.

The practical reason dakhil-kharij matters so much in Jharkhand is the lagan. Until a jamabandi exists in your name you cannot pay land tax on the plot, and without lagan receipts in your name you will struggle to sell the land on, raise a loan against it, or establish possession in any later proceeding. A registered deed by itself does not get you there.

Who can and who cannot apply for dakhil-kharij in Jharkhand?

You can apply if you have acquired land in Jharkhand by:

• A registered sale deed in your favour.
• Inheritance on the death of a recorded raiyat, where you are a legal heir.
• A registered gift deed or a will that has taken effect.
• A partition (batwara) among co-sharers.
• A court decree declaring your right in the land.
• A government settlement or allotment, where a jamabandi has to be opened accordingly.

You cannot apply, or the mutation will be refused, if:

• The land is scheduled-tribe land transferred in breach of the tenancy Acts. This is the defining restriction in Jharkhand. The Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 governs most of the state and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, 1949 governs the Santhal Pargana division. Both sharply restrict transfer of land held by members of scheduled tribes, and in the Santhal Pargana, transfer of raiyati land is restricted still further. A Circle Officer will not mutate a transfer made in breach of these Acts, and a sale deed registered in breach of them does not cure the illegality.
• You hold only an agreement to sell, a power of attorney or an unregistered writing.
• The land is government, gairmazarua, bhoodan or forest land described as private in the deed.
• The seller has no jamabandi for the khata and plot sold, so the chain is broken.
• The lagan is in arrears on the existing jamabandi.
• The plot number, khata or area in the deed does not match Register-II or the khatiyan.
• There is a stay order or a pending title suit, or the land is already before a revenue court.

A sanctioned dakhil-kharij is not a title deed. It records what the revenue department accepts about who holds the land and pays revenue on it. Title disputes are decided by civil courts.

How to apply for property mutation online in Jharkhand, step by step

1. Register the deed before the Sub-Registrar, paying stamp duty and the registration fee, and collect the registered document with its deed number, date and registry office. For an inheritance case, collect the death certificate and the vanshavali listing every heir instead.
2. Check the existing record free on JharBhoomi. Look up Register-II and the khatiyan for the khata and plot, and confirm that the plot number, khata, mauza, halka, thana number and area match your deed exactly. Also confirm what tenancy status the land carries, a mismatch or a tenancy-law restriction found now saves months.
3. Open the online mutation application on jharbhoomi.jharkhand.gov.in. Fill in the applicant's details, district, anchal, mauza, halka, thana number, khata and plot numbers, the area to be mutated, and the registered document's number and date. Give a mobile number you actually use, the portal sends the application number, status changes and hearing notices to it.
4. Upload the documents, registered deed, current lagan receipt, Aadhaar, and for an inheritance the death certificate and vanshavali, and submit.
5. Note the application number. Nothing afterwards works without it: not the status tracker, not a query at the anchal counter, not an appeal.
6. The Halka Karmchari reports on the plot, its possession and any restriction attaching to it.
7. The Circle Officer hears and passes the order. A clean registered sale with no objection is routine. An inheritance mutation requires all heirs to be identified. A contested case is heard before it is decided.
8. Verify the new jamabandi on JharBhoomi after sanction, and start paying lagan online against it in your own name.

If you would rather not file the application yourself, a Pragya Kendra; Jharkhand's Common Service Centre network — will file it for you at the counter charge displayed there. That is the operator's service charge, not an additional government fee, and you should ask what it is before agreeing.

How do I check my mutation status in Jharkhand?

JharBhoomi carries a mutation application status service. Enter your application number, district and anchal to see the stage of the file; pending with the Halka Karmchari, listed for hearing before the Circle Officer, sanctioned, or rejected with reasons.

The portal also lets you check:

• Register-II, the current jamabandi entries for a khata, which is where you confirm that the sanctioned mutation has actually been given effect.
• Khatiyan. The settlement record of rights.
• Online lagan payment and receipts. The practical proof that a jamabandi now stands in your name.
• DCLR appeal information, for cases that have moved into the appellate stage.

Every one of these is free to use. Nobody should charge you to read a status screen.

What does mutation cost in Jharkhand?

Keep the two costs separate. Stamp duty and the registration fee are paid at registration and are the large amounts in a land transaction. The dakhil-kharij itself carries only a small statutory revenue charge, and the amount to rely on is the one the JharBhoomi portal displays at the payment step or the amount displayed at the anchal counter.

Filing online yourself is the cheapest route. A Pragya Kendra will file it for you for a service charge, which is a charge for the operator's time, not a government levy; ask for it to be stated up front.

What you should not pay is a middleman outside the anchal office quoting thousands of rupees to "get the dakhil-kharij passed". These agents hold no power that the Halka Karmchari and Circle Officer do not already exercise on exactly the documents you would submit yourself. Paying a revenue official for a sanction is a bribe and is punishable. The correct response is a written grievance to the DCLR or the Deputy Commissioner, or a complaint through the state's grievance redressal system.

Why do Jharkhand mutations get rejected?

• Tenancy-law restriction. A transfer of scheduled-tribe land in breach of the CNT Act or the SPT Act is the most serious ground, and it is not curable by better paperwork. Jharkhand also has a live process for restoring unlawfully transferred tribal land to the original holder.
• Plot or khata mismatch between the deed and Register-II or the khatiyan.
• Broken chain, the seller's own jamabandi was never opened, so his name is not in the record he is selling from.
• Lagan in arrears on the existing jamabandi.
• Missing heirs in an inheritance mutation, particularly widows and daughters.
• Objection filed by a co-sharer, a neighbour or the raiyat's family, moving the case into a contested hearing.
• Government, gairmazarua, bhoodan or forest land wrongly described as private.
• Area discrepancy, the deed conveys more than the seller's jamabandi holds.

A rejection order carries its reason. Where the defect is documentary, cure it and file afresh. Where you dispute the order itself, appeal to the DCLR of the sub-division, and beyond that to the Additional Collector and the Commissioner.

Does a Jharkhand mutation expire?

No. Once a jamabandi is opened in your name it stays there until the land next changes hands. There is no renewal and no revalidation.

What continues is the annual lagan payable against that jamabandi, which JharBhoomi lets you pay online. Pay it every year and keep the receipts, in Jharkhand a run of lagan receipts in your own name is among the strongest practical evidence of your holding, and is the first thing a buyer, a bank or a revenue court will ask to see alongside the deed.

Where do I complain if my dakhil-kharij is stuck?

• The Circle Officer (Anchal Adhikari) of the anchal, who is the deciding authority.
• The DCLR (Deputy Collector Land Reforms) of the sub-division, for appeals and for delay at circle level.
• The Deputy Commissioner / Additional Collector of the district.
• The Department of Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms, Government of Jharkhand, through the contact route published on jharbhoomi.jharkhand.gov.in.
• The state public grievance system, for a written, tracked complaint against administrative inaction.

Quote your application number, khata, plot number, mauza, halka, thana number, anchal and district in every complaint. A grievance without these cannot be matched to a file and will be closed without action.