Mutation, or namjari (নামজারি), is the substitution of a new holder’s name in the public record after a transfer. It does not create title and it is not part of registration — it is a separate application made after the deed is registered. In West Bengal it runs on two independent tracks. Where the property is assessed by a municipal body, an application is made to that body to alter its assessment record. Where the land carries a record of rights, an application is made to the Block Land and Land Reforms Officer to correct that record. A property inside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area may require the first, land outside it will require the second, and some properties require both.
Why it is necessary although it confers nothing
Mutation does not transfer ownership; a registered deed does that. What mutation does is make the public record agree with the deed, and the consequences of the record disagreeing are practical and cumulative.
Rates and revenue continue to be demanded from the recorded holder. A sale by a person whose name is not in the record raises a question at the next registration and often at the purchaser’s bank. An application to convert the class of land will not be entertained until the applicant’s name is on the record. Compensation on acquisition is paid by reference to the record. And in litigation, a long unexplained gap between a deed and the mutation is a point taken against the party relying on the deed.
Track one: the municipal record
Where the property is a flat, a house or a plot assessed to property tax by a municipal body, the application is to that body — the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for property within its area, or the relevant Municipality under the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 elsewhere. What is altered is the assessee’s name in the assessment register, so that rates are demanded from the purchaser and the receipts issue in the purchaser’s name.
Outstanding arrears attach to the property, not to the person. A purchaser who does not obtain the current rates position before completing will find the arrears of a previous owner demanded from him, and an application for mutation is the point at which they surface.
Track two: the record of rights
Where the land carries a khatian, the application is to the Block Land and Land Reforms Officer under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 for correction of the record of rights, and may be made through banglarbhumi.gov.in. What is altered is the entry of the raiyat — the recorded holder — in the LR khatian for the dags transferred.
Where only part of a dag is transferred, the application also involves apportionment of the area within that dag, and this is where delay most often arises. A conveyance of an undivided share in a dag, without a partition and without a demarcated area, produces a record that no subsequent purchaser can safely read.
The order and the timing
Register the deed first. Then apply for mutation. Then, if the class of the land has to change, apply for conversion — an application for conversion made before mutation is complete is liable to be rejected on that ground alone.
Nothing in the law makes a purchaser’s title depend on how quickly he applies, but nothing protects him from the consequences of not applying either. The papers required are at their most easily obtainable in the weeks after registration, and hardest to obtain years later when a seller has moved, died, or lost interest in assisting.
Documents you will need
- The registered deed of transfer, in original, with a certified copy
- The seller’s title deeds and the earlier deeds in the chain
- The current record of rights or the current assessment record
- The latest land revenue or property tax receipt in the seller’s name
- Identification and permanent account number of the applicant
- A sketch or plan of the land where only part of a dag is transferred
- The prescribed application form and the receipted fee challan
- For a municipal application, the last assessment bill and the position on arrears
Frequently asked questions
Is mutation the same as registration?
No. Registration is the recording of the deed at the registration office. Mutation is a later application to the municipal body or the land and land reforms office to alter their record of who holds the property.
Is mutation compulsory?
There is no penalty for a purchaser who does not apply, but the practical consequences accumulate — rates demanded from the former owner, difficulty on a resale, and an application for conversion that will not be entertained.
Can I get mutation done if the seller has not been mutated?
The gap in the record has to be explained by the deeds. Where an intermediate owner was never mutated, that has to be established from the chain, and it is a common reason for an application to be held up.
Does mutation cure a defect in title?
No. An entry obtained on defective documents remains an entry obtained on defective documents, and can be set aside.
Procedures, forms and fees differ between the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, other municipal bodies and the land and land reforms offices, and are revised from time to time. This page describes the general position and is not advice on any particular application.