Various aspects to be scrutinized in
Title Deeds
1. While perusing title deeds care
must be taken to know whether the vendor derives absolute title to convey in
favour of the intending purchaser. If
the title deeds confer only a life interest or life estate, meaning hereby only
a right to enjoy the property till his life time, the vendor cannot transfer
absolute title.
2. It should be found out whether
the title deed stipulates any condition to the intending vendor to derive
absolute title to the property. If there
are such conditions the same would be a bar to derive title to the property unless the conditions are fulfilled.
3.It is absolutely necessary that the
vendor should have derived absolute rights to encumber and alienate the
property before professing that he is the absolute owner. In order to transfer such absolute rights to encumber
and alienate the following terms are usually used in a title deed “The
purchaser, his heirs, executors and administrators hence forth can enjoy the
schedule mentioned property with absolute rights of encumbrance and alienation forever”.
4. While perusing the title deeds
containing the description of properties the following important factors are to
be enshrined in the schedule of property:
I.
Registration District
II.
Registration Sub District
III. Revenue
District
IV. Name
of Taluk
V.
Name of Town or Village
VI. Name
of the Street ( If it is house/shop )
VII. Door
No. ( If it is house/shop )
VIII. Survey
No.
IX. Sub-division
No.
X.
Town Survey No.
( If the property is situated in Town )
XI. Total
Extent and the extent actually sold out of the total extent
XII. East-West
Measurement and the North-South Measurement ( If it is vacant site, house or
Shop )
XIII. Boundaries
on all four sides
XIV. Kist
Amount ( If it is Land )
XV. Market
value
XVI. If
it is a bylane where the property is situated details thereof and also of
access
XVII. Easement
of right of way
XVIII. Well
right or share thereof in the well and the baling apparatus like “( Kavalai and kavalaibari
)
XIX. Installation
of Electric Motor and its horse power E.B. Service connection No. and deposit
details.
XX. Channel
right
XXI. Mode
of irrigation ( Like Lake
irrigation )
XXII. Details
of trees and plants.
While purchasing property, the
purchaser must demand and obtain the original documents of title. If the vendor represents that the original
title deed was lost the intending purchaser must be very careful because the
intending vendor could have created a mortgage by deposit of title deeds under
an unregistered memorandum of title. The existence of a mortgage by deposit of
title deeds cannot be detected through encumbrance certificate because such a
mortgage can be created under an unregistered deed. Such a lurking danger is there in the case of
such representation like loss of the original title deeds.
There are certain exceptions under
which the original title deed cannot be parted by the vendor. For instance, if the vendor derived title
under a registered partition deed and if he is selling a fraction of share of
his property he is not expected to part with the original partition deed. Moreover all the sharers in a partition deed
cannot be expected to possess the original because normally the eldest member
of the joint family would possess the same. when the vendor sells only a
fraction of the whole property which he had purchased under a sale deed, he
would not hand over the original sale deed to the purchaser.
In the above circumstances, xerox
copies duly notarized can be kept in the place of the original document of
title. However care must be taken to
ascertain about the availability of the original title deed with the vendor.
In this context, it is pertinent to
point out that nowadays, the Registrar Office issues first copy, second copy etc.,
of the original partition deed containing the original signatures of the
parties concerned. Each copy in
engrossed on a Rs.20/- stamp paper and each copy is considered as the
original. This facility helps all the
sharers to possess an original partition deed.
POSSESSION OF PROPERTY
After scrutinizing the title deeds
to find out whether the vendor has got title to the property he intends to sell,
his possession of the said property is to
be ascertained because he should be in a position to hand over vacant
and peaceful possession of the property to the purchaser. If a person purchases a property from a
person who does not possess the property he may derive title but not immediate
possession. Possession is of two kinds:-
(1)
Actual Possession
(2)
Constructive Possession
If the vendor
personally enjoys the property like cultivating his land or residing in his
house, his possession is said to be actual possession. Suppose the vendor has leased his property he
is in constructive possession of the property.
When a person purchases a site or house, it is always advisable to
insist on vacant possession. For, after
purchase he may find it difficult to vacate the lessee or tenant and getting
vacant possession through the process of law would be costly and time-consuming.
PATTA AND CHITTA EXTRACT:-
In order to find out whether the
vendor has got possession of a land certain documents like Patta or Chitta
extract will have to be scrutinized.
Patta is a document issued be the Revenue Department after ascertaining the possession of the
property by particular person and the pattadhar is presumed to be in possession
of the property. Paat book was given to
the holders of lands some time back in 1970’s the revenue department was
issuing Patta books in various colours like red, yellow and green. In 1980’s a scheme called “Updating Registry
Scheme” (UDR) was formatted by the
Tamil Nadu Government under which revenue officials conducted a survey and as
certained the actual holders of lands to whom Patta under the UDR scheme was
granted. The said scheme was started on
01.06.1979 and terminated on 30.04.1987.
Chitta extract gives particulars like patta number, extent, levy of
revenue and patta holders name. Now-a –days such books are not issued. On the other hand patta is easily obtained
on-line by getting a print out of the same on payment of a nominal fee’s which
is very useful for the land owners.
Kist (Land revenue):-
Patta is issued to a person by the
revenue authorities main by to fix the person from whom land revenue is to be
collected. On payment of Kist during
every Fasli year a receipt is issued by the V.A.O. (Village Administrative
Officer). The Kist receipt would reveal
the patta number, the revenue amount collected and also the period (Fasli year)
for which the amount is collected. The
Kist receipt does not disclose the
Survey Number of the land but only the Patta Number. On the contrary Patta would contain Patta
Number which comprises the various lands.
Therefore a combined study of Patta or Chitta extract with the Kist
receipt would vouch safe for the possession of a particular land.
“A” Register Extracts:-
“A” register is maintained in
respect of lands which reveal the details of the new Survey Number, Old Survey
Number classification details like Ryotwari, Dry or Wet, Soil details “Taram,
Rate, Extract, Kist and the pattadars name”.
The “A” register extracts is perusal mainly to ascertain the correlation
between Old Survey No and New Survey No.
In the remarks columns, it is revealed whether the land in poromboke,
Irrigated by well or River, Lake etc.,
“SUB-DIVISION” Extracts
When a land in a particular Survey
Number owned by several peoples, Sub-Divisions are affected and Sub-Division
numbers are given in the Patta. While
granting an order for sub-division and insurance of separate patta normally the
Tahsildhar or Deputy Tahsildhar passes such Orders under proceedings.
“ FMB ” Extract
A Revenue Department prefers and preserves field
measurements books revealing the Topography of a land in a particular Survey
number with all sub division details.
The various lands and several Survey numbers situated in a village can
be seen in a Field Measurement Book ( FMB ).
In the FM Extract for a particular Survey Number. We can see the various Sub-Divisions, the
existence of house, well, foortpath, and cart truck besides the measurement for
each sub-divisions.
In respect of vacant sites situated
in Municipal Town Villages, a book called Survey Field Register (SFR), the
extracts of which can be obtained from Taluk Office as well as Municipal
Office. In the said extracts would
reveal the extent of property old and new Town Survey Numbers and the pattadars
name. The said extracts is usually
issued, with the enclosures containing the field sketch.
