Before any Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) buys, sells, inherits, or grants a Power of Attorney over property in India, the underlying land records need to be checked. Jamabandi and Fard are the two most important of these records — Jamabandi is the village Record of Rights, and a Fard is a certified extract from it.
Alongside these, the Khatauni, Khasra, and Khewat numbers identify who cultivates the land, which specific plot is involved, and which co-owners share it. Misreading any one of these documents is one of the most common causes of delay — or dispute — in cross-border Indian property transactions.
At Whytecroft Ford, we regularly advise UK-based clients who are reviewing inherited or ancestral land in Punjab and other states and who are encountering terms such as “Fard” or “Khatauni” on a document for the first time. This guide explains what each term means, how the documents relate to one another, and how an NRI or OCI in the UK can access them.
What Is a Jamabandi?
A Jamabandi is the official Record of Rights (ROR) for a village, listing every landowner, their share, the area and classification of their land, and the revenue payable on it. It is prepared and maintained by the local Patwari (village revenue official) and, in Punjab, is revised on a roughly five-yearly cycle, incorporating changes recorded in the mutation register and the Khasra Girdawari (harvest inspection register) over that period.
For an NRI or OCI, the Jamabandi is usually the starting point of any title check. If a family has held land for generations, the Jamabandi shows who is currently recorded as the owner — which may or may not match who the family believes is entitled to the land, particularly after a death in the family that was never followed by mutation. Punjab’s land records are now almost entirely digitised and ongoing.
What Is a Fard, and How Is It Different from a Jamabandi?
A Fard is a certified extract, or copy, of an individual’s or family’s entry in the Jamabandi — sometimes called a “Jamabandi Nakal.” Where the Jamabandi is the master register for the whole village, the Fard is the specific page (or summary of it) that relates to one landholding, showing the owner’s name, their share, the area, and any cultivation or revenue details recorded against that entry.
This distinction matters in practice. A Fard is the document an NRI or OCI will typically need to produce — for a bank loan against the land, for a sub-registrar when registering a sale, or for a court proving a family’s historical holding in a succession dispute. A corrected extract, issued after an error in the original record is rectified, is called a “Fard Badar.” Because a Fard is usually in Punjabi or Hindi and uses local land units (Kanals and Marlas, not acres), a professional legal translation is strongly recommended before it is relied on for a UK decision — see our guide to Punjabi and Hindi legal document translation.
What Is a Khatauni?
A Khatauni is the cultivator-wise record, listing all the plots of land — identified by their Khasra numbers — that a particular individual or family cultivates within a village. Where the Jamabandi and Fard focus on ownership shares, the Khatauni groups together everything one cultivator holds or farms within that specific revenue village, even if those plots are scattered across different Khasra numbers in the village.
For NRI and OCI families, the Khatauni is particularly relevant where land has historically been farmed by a tenant or a relative on behalf of an absent owner. The Khatauni number can reveal who has been recorded as the cultivator over time, which is a frequent source of disputes when an NRI returns to formalise a sale and finds the cultivation record does not match the family’s understanding of who has been “looking after” the land.
What Is a Khasra Number?
A Khasra number is the unique survey or plot number assigned to a specific, physically demarcated piece of land within a village — every separate parcel has its own Khasra number, shown on the village’s revenue map. It is the most granular identifier in the system: a Jamabandi entry, a Fard, and a Khatauni will all reference one or more Khasra numbers to specify exactly which physical land they relate to.
The related Khasra Girdawari is the harvest inspection register, in which the Patwari records the crop sown and the person in possession of each Khasra plot during field inspections, conventionally carried out twice a year (around October and April). For an NRI checking a family property, confirming the Khasra number on a Fard matches the Khasra number on the ground — and on any sale deed — is an essential, basic step before any transaction proceeds.
What Is a Khewat Number?
A Khewat number is the ownership account number that groups together all co-owners who jointly hold a particular agricultural holding, recording each person’s fractional share. Where multiple family members — siblings, cousins, or descendants across several generations — jointly inherited land without formal partition, they will typically all appear under the same Khewat number, each with their own specified share (for example, expressed as a fraction such as 1/8th).
This is one of the most common points of difficulty for NRI and OCI individuals. A Fard extracted against a Khewat number will show the full list of co-owners and their shares — which can include UK-based relatives who may not be aware they hold a recorded interest in Indian land at all. Before any sale, gift, or Power of Attorney is executed, it is important to confirm whose share is actually being dealt with, and whether mutation (Intkal/Dakhil Kharij) is needed to update the Khewat entry following an earlier, unrecorded inheritance. We cover this mutation process, and what happens where an owner died without a will, in our guide to claiming inherited property in India.
Why These Records Matter Before an NRI/OCI Property Transaction
Each of these documents answers a different question, and a property transaction is rarely good practice to proceed on the strength of just one of them (depending on purpose). The Jamabandi confirms who the village revenue record currently shows as the owner. The Fard is the portable extract used to evidence that to a bank, buyer, or court. The Khatauni confirms who is recorded as cultivating the land. The Khasra number pins down exactly which physical plot is under discussion, and the Khewat number confirms how a jointly-owned holding is divided between co-owners.
It is worth being clear that none of these revenue records, on their own, conclusively prove legal title — Indian courts have repeatedly held that a mutation entry, for instance, does not by itself confer ownership. They are, however, the documents that any buyer, bank, or court will expect to see as part of establishing a consistent chain of ownership, alongside the registered sale deed and any succession documents. Our guide to the importance of a property title search in India explains how these records fit into a fuller due diligence exercise.
How NRIs and OCIs Can Access These Records from the UK
Punjab’s land records are managed by the Punjab Land Records Society (PLRS) via jamabandi.punjab.gov.in, and the state has digitised the great majority of village land records, making the Jamabandi, Fard, mutation status, and field maps viewable online. However, some records may still be unavailable and ongoing; some may be difficult to read and assess due to language barriers.
Acting on a record from the UK is the harder part. Obtaining a certified Fard, applying for a Fard Badar correction, or initiating a mutation (Intkal) typically requires a representative on the ground. When the owner is unable to be physically present, the owner usually appoints a trusted individual under a registered Power of Attorney to support due process. Our guide to Punjab Power of Attorney from the UK sets out how that authority is granted and what it allows your representative to do with these records on your behalf.
If you are a UK-based NRI or OCI looking at a Fard, Jamabandi extract, or Khatauni for a family property and are not sure what it shows — or whether the recorded ownership matches what your family expects — depending on your circumstances, our Indian law team can review the documents, advise on mutation, and, where appropriate, draft your Indian Power of Attorney with the correct legal clauses so the necessary steps can be taken in India without you needing to travel. Visit our NRI and OCI property hub for a wider overview of buying, selling, and managing Indian property from the UK, or contact us on 0208 757 5751 or info@whytecroftford.com to discuss your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Jamabandi is the complete Record of Rights register for an entire village, maintained by the Patwari and revised periodically. A Fard is a certified extract or copy of one entry from that register — relating to a specific owner, family, or Khewat — and is the document typically produced for banks, buyers, or courts. In short, the Jamabandi is the register; the Fard is the certified excerpt taken from it.
A Khatauni records which plots (identified by Khasra numbers) a particular individual or family cultivates within a village. It is used to establish who is recorded as farming or possessing specific land, which is especially relevant where a tenant, relative, or caretaker has been managing land on behalf of an NRI or OCI owner.
Yes, for Punjab. The jamabandi.punjab.gov.in portal allows the current Jamabandi, Fard, and mutation status for a holding to be viewed online where available. Obtaining a certified copy, a Fard Badar correction, or initiating a mutation generally still requires a representative in India, typically appointed under a Power of Attorney.
A Fard is strong evidence of how the land revenue record currently shows ownership, and it is the document most commonly relied on for bank loans, sale registration, and court proceedings. However, it is a revenue record rather than a title deed, and Indian courts have held that revenue entries such as mutation do not, by themselves, confer ownership. A full title check should also consider the registered sale or gift deed and the succession history.
A Khasra number identifies one specific, physically demarcated plot of land. A Khatauni number identifies a cultivator and lists all the Khasra plots they farm. A Khewat number identifies an ownership account and lists all the co-owners of a holding, together with their individual shares. The three numbers answer different questions — which plot, who farms it, and who owns it — and a single piece of land will typically appear under all three.
In Punjab, the Jamabandi is conventionally prepared and revised on a roughly five-yearly cycle, incorporating any mutations (ownership changes) and Khasra Girdawari (harvest inspection) entries recorded in the intervening period. Mutations themselves, such as those following a sale or inheritance, can be applied for and recorded online (“Intkal”) between Jamabandi revisions, so the most current position may differ from the last printed Jamabandi until the next revision incorporates it.
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Indian property and revenue law varies by state, and the position for any individual holding will depend on its specific facts and documentation.
