Supreme Court: Revenue entry does not create or extinguish property title

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that mere mutation or an entry in revenue records does not create or extinguish title to immovable property. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih set aside a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had decided a title dispute based solely on revenue records. The Court said a right in property cannot be treated as voluntarily abandoned just because a revenue entry appears in another person's name.

The case concerned agricultural land originally held by Bhagwansingh. After his death, the property was jointly in the names of his sons Ramprasad and Vasudev. Later, revenue records reflected the property solely in Vasudev's name. The legal heirs of Ramprasad sought declaration of co-ownership and partition. The trial court and first appellate court ruled in their favour, but the High Court overturned those findings in a second appeal.

The Supreme Court restored the trial court decree recognising co-ownership rights and directed partition of shares. The Court observed that the statutory presumption of correctness attaching to a revenue entry under Section 117 of the MP Land Revenue Code is rebuttable and not a presumption of title. The respondents failed to produce a registered relinquishment deed or independent witness to prove Ramprasad had voluntarily surrendered his interest.