Brief Introduction

Record-of-rights and map finally published or deemed to be published under the Survey and Settlement
Act, 1958 requires maintenance to keep it up-to-date for various reasons. These changes are done through Mutation proceedings and the Tahasildars including Additional Tahasildars have been empowered for the purpose. Sec. 16 of the Survey and Settlement Act read with Chapter IV of the Survey and Settlement Rules provide grounds and manners for correction of the record-of-rights and map and exhaustive procedures have been provided in the Orissa Mutation Manual.

The Orissa Survey and Settlement Rules, 1962 is a statutory provision whereas the instructions contained in the Mutation Manual are executive in nature. The provisions contained in the Mutation Manual cannot override the provisions contained in the Orissa Survey and Settlement Rules, 1962. The Mutation Manual only seeks to amplify the provisions in addition to laying down detailed instructions for regulating the administrative aspect of the work.

After final publication of the record-of-rights any person aggrieved by any entry or omission from any record, can institute a suit for relief within three years from the date of such publication under Sec. 42 of the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act, 1958. It has been held by the High Court of Orissa that any suit filed beyond three years from the date of final publication for correction of record-of-rights is barred by limitation in Panu Behera v. Jitendra Das reported in 54 (1982) CLT 393 and Bhagabat Jena v. Gobardhan Patnaik and others reported in 54 (1982) CLT 30. It has also been held in the case of State of Orissa v. Smt. Pana Mali and others, reported in 1978 (1)CWR 209 that if the suit is based on title then the bar of limitation under Sec. 42 of the of the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act would not be attracted. In a mutation proceeding complicated question of title cannot be decided.

CHAPTER - I
GENERAL

Throughout these instructions unless it appears otherwise from the context, "the Act" means 'the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act, 1958 (3 of 1959) and "the Rules" means the rules made there
under*

Unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context words and expressions used in
this Manual shall have the same meaning as in the Act and the Rules.

In these instructions "Naib- Tahasildar" means a Naib-Tahasildar, a Revenue Inspector and any other whole-time salaried Government employee in charge of revenue collection and other miscellaneous revenue work at the village level and includes a part-time collection agent by whatever designation he is called, namely Gountia, Sarbarakar, Pradhan, Village Officer etc.
Comment -Part-time collection agency is no more vogue.

Sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 16 of the Act gives power to Government to prescribe the manner in which the map and the record-of-rights will be maintained and kept up-to-date. The manner of maintenance has been prescribed by Government in Chapter IV of the Rules (reproduced in Appendix-I). These rules supersede all other rules governing mutation proceedings in the areas where Secs. 2 to 47 of the Act are in force.

The dates on which Secs. 2 to 47 of the Act came into force in different areas of the State
are given in Appendix-2.

The instructions in this Manual must be complied with exactly and no deviation shall be made.
If any deviation is considered necessary in the interest of work, the Director of Land Records
and Surveys shall be moved for issue of formal amendment to the relevant paragraph or
paragraphs of the Manual.

A complete list of registers maintained by any person who under these rules is required to maintain them has to be hung up at the place of the person concerned.

*The rules were issued in Notification No. 46572-S-6/60-R., dated the 29th October, 1960 of Government in Revenue Department and first published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 679, dated the 29th October, 1960. These have been superseded by another set of rules issued In Notification No. 28842-S-167/62-R., dated the21st June, 1962 and first published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 327. dated the22nd June, 1962.)

A label is to be affixed to the outside front cover of each register showing its name,the authority under which it is maintained and its period of preservation. Each register should be serially page numbered and a certificate as to the number of pages contained in each register shall be appended in the first page before the register is brought into use.

Proper preservation of registers forms an essential part of the duties of theperson who is entrusted with their maintenance. The conditions of the registers has in some places been found to be very unsatisfactory owing to one or more of the following causes,
namely:

When a correction is made in a register at any time later than the day of the original entry,
the person who makes the correction should invariably add the date month and year to the
initials of correction.

It is not necessary to open a new set of registers every year unless the rules or instructions
specifically provide for this. A register should be in use until it is fully used by a new series of entries being commenced each year. Blank registers should not be kept at all, and all registers kept should be neatly bound in Kharwa cloth and kept in good order.

"Record-of-rights" means the record-of-rights finally published under Sub-sec.(1) of Sec. 12-B or finally re-published under Sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 23 or deemed to have been finally published under Sec. 38 of the Act and includes, as provided in Sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 16, any record-of-rights prepared and maintained under any law or custom having the force of law and declared by Government as record-of-rights finally published under the Act. Details of such declaration are given in Appendix-3.

Under the provisions of Sub-rule (4) of Rule 29 and Sub-rule (4) of Rule 55 the finally published and the finally re-published map and the record-of-rights shall remain in the custody of the Tahasildar. Rule 32 requires that they are to be maintained and kept up-to-date. Rule 34 requires that the Tahasildar is to initiate mutation proceedings for maintenance of the record-of-rights. Thus the Tahasildar is the most important person, so far, as preservation and maintenance of the record-of-rights is concerned. Clause (d) of Rule 2 defines the Tahasildar as an officer whom the Board of Revenue may appoint to discharge anyof the functions of a Tahasildar under Chapter IV of these rules and includes an Additional Tahasildar. Any Officer who is intended to be entrusted with the disposal of mutation proceedings will therefore, have to be notified by the Board of Revenue to discharge the functions of a Tahasildar under Chapter IV of the Rules. The notification will also define the jurisdiction of each 'Tahasildar'. There is no harm in empowering more than one officer in respect of the same jurisdiction. On the other hand, this may be found necessary in many cases. Recommendation for empowering officers as "Tahasildar" shall be submitted by the Collector to the Director of Land Records and Surveys.

Continuity in the office of the Tahasildar is essential. That is to say, the person who will function as the Tahasildar in respect of any area must have an independent office with arrangements for proper preservation of the map and the record-of-rights. The Taluk Officers in Southern districts and the Tahasildar (comparable to these Taluk Officers) in some of the Northern districts fulfill these conditions and they have, therefore, been notified under the rules the as "Tahasildar" by designation. In some of the Northern districts there are no Revenue Officers comparable to Taluk Officer of Southern districts, In these areas officers have been notified as "Tahasildar" by name as well as by designation (such as Third Officers, Fourth Officers). In these cases, though the map and the record-of-rights are preserved either in the district or in the Sub-divisional Record Room, as the case may be, the person notified as the "Tahasildar" is its custodian according to the rules. It is thus necessary at least one person is to be appointed as the "Tahasildar" for the entire area covered by a single administrative unit, namely a Taluk. Tahasil or Sub-division and he should be appointed as such designation whereas many persons as are considered necessary "for ensuring expeditious disposal of mutation cases from time to time may also be appointed as Tahasildars. The Collector and the Sub- divisional Officer (or Revenue Divisional Officer) have the responsibility to see that sufficient number of officers are empowered to dispose of mutation cases as soon as it appears to them that prompt disposal of pending mutation cases is not possible by the existing number of officers having necessary powers. While submitting his recommendations in this regard the Collector shall specifically maintain that the officer recommended is acquainted with the law and rules on the subject that he has knowledge of land records. The Director of Land Records and Surveys will recommend only those cases to Board of Revenue where he is satisfied on these two points.

Under Clause (a) of Sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 31 of the Act the Collector has power to distribute work among his subordinate officers. Where two or more, officers have mutation powers in respect of the same area, the Collector by a written order, shall have to distribute the work among them preferably by defining their respective territorial jurisdiction (giving names of Police Stations, Firaks, Naib-Tahasil Circles. Village, etc.) as will be readily understood by the general public. A substance of this order shall be notified by posting a copy of it on the notice board. It will also be circulated to all Revenue Subordinates of the area who should give wide publicity to it. Such as an order cannot have retrospective effect and will not apply to cases pending on the date of the order. But the Collector has power under Clause (a) of Sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 31 to withdraw such cases from the disposal to the file of the officer who is subsequently given power in respect of the area concerned. In many cases, this course of action will be found advisable as there may be more than one proceeding in different times and it is always desirable that they should be disposed of by the same officer.

If any application is made by any person on anyone or more of the grounds mentioned in Clauses (a) to (f) of Rule 34, the Tahasildar has to initiate a mutation proceeding taking the application as the starting point of the proceedings.

The Naib- Tahasildar shall make all endeavour to ascertain the changes that entail correction of the map and the record-of-rights in particular at the time of collection of rent, every rent-payer should be asked if he has any mutation to report and if so, the Naib-Tahasildar shall ascertain the details from him. Similarly while engaged in any other revenue or miscellaneous work, the Naib- Tahasildar may come across mutation cases. In all such cases he shall ascertain all the details from the person concerned and submit a report in the form given in Appendix-5. The Tahasildar shall ensure that the Naib- Tahasildar has with him sufficient stock of this form. The Naib-Tahasildar shall maintain a register in the form given in Appendix-6 for keeping a note of all information relating to mutation which he gets at the time of enquiries of collections of rent and forwards to the Tahasildar. The Report of the Naib- Tahasildar shall be treated as the starting point of the relevant mutation proceeding before the Tahasildar if such a proceeding has not been started by him.

When land is acquired permanently for a Public purposes or for a company the Land Acquisition Officer shall, immediately after the sanction of abatement of land revenue forward a report to the Tahasildar in the the form given in the Appendix-5. Separate reports for each khata/khewat affected by the Land Acquisition proceeding shall be forwarded by the Land Acquisition Officer so as to the facilitate initiation of separate mutation proceedings. When such a report is received, it shall form the starting point of the mutation proceeding. The Land Acquisition Officer shall keep a note of all mutations reported to the Tahasildar in a register the pro forma of which is given in Appendix-6.

Certain laws require transfer of ownership in land to be notified by the Registering Officer to the authority competent to maintain land records. Sub-sec. (5) of Sec. 11 and Sub-sec. (3) of Sec. 19 of the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960 are instances of this type. When such a notice is received, a mutation proceeding has to be initiated the notice being taken as the starting point of the proceeding.

Courts are required under provisions of certain law to notify changes of ownership in land to the authority competent to maintain land records. Sub-sec. (5) of Sec. II, Sub-sec. (3), (5) and (6) of Sec. 19 and Sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 31 of the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960 are instances of this type. when such a notice is received, a mutation proceeding has to be initiated the notice being taken as the starting point of the proceedings.

Generally Officers having power to initiate and dispose of mutation proceedings have powers under other Revenue and Tenancy Laws and as such they deal with cases which have the effect of correcting the land records. For example, a Tahasildar who exercises the powers of a Collector under the Orissa Estate Abolition Act,1951 deals with cases of assessment and conversion of private lands and jagir lands into raiyat. Similarly a Tahasildar,as the manager of a Government Estate deals with lease, encroachment, relinquishment and similar cases, and a Tahasildar exercising powers of a Revenue Officer under the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960 may be dealing with cases of allotment of ceiling-surplus lands or such other cases involving change in ownership, occupation, status etc. When such a case is disposed of and the period of appeal and/or revision if any is over and no appeal or revision is filed during the period or if any such appeal or revision is filed, after its disposal, the officer shall initiate a mutation case by taking extracts of the relevant portion of the order passed in the disposal of case. It is inexpedient to wait in all these cases till the interested party applies for mutation.

Specific grounds on which the record-of-rights can be corrected have been enumerated in Rule 34. It will be notified that this rule covers a very wide field. In particular Clause (e) of the rules is very elastic and covers not only changes in ownership or occupatjon but also change in the classification of land, rights of easement, status, adverse possession, encroachments, induction of sub-tenants etc. As a matter of fact, any entry which can be made in course of a record- of-rights or rent settlement operation can also be made in the record- of-rights through a mutation proceeding. This wide scope of mutation proceeding casts a heavy responsibility on the Tahasildar and he cannot discharge this responsibility if he is to wait for application or intimations for starting such a proceeding in all cases. He should therefore take cognizance of all prima facie mutation cases which come to his notice while engaged in any other duty.

Each voluntary application for mutation filed by a part shall bear Court-stamp of one rupee. In case of a suo motu proceeding started under any of the paragraphs 19 to 24 the party in whose favour mutation is allowed will be called upon to pay this fee unless he has paid it, before final order are passed. The Tahasildar shall make a mention of this fact in his final order and call upon the party to pay the Court-fee stamp. A register of Court-fees to be realised (the headings of which are given in Appendix-25) shall be maintained and realisations shall be properly accounted for in the Court-fee register as mentioned in Paragraph-28.

All such applications shall be received by the Tahasildar himself and in his absence by such other officer as may be authorised in writing by him in this behalf.

If any application for mutation is presented to Revenue Officer other than a Tahasildar he shall return the application to the petitioner directing him to file it before the proper authority after making an endorsement to that effect in the body of the application.

Immediately after a mutation application is received or when Court-fee stamps are received in case of suo motu proceeding all the labels of Court-fee stamp shall be punched with a round punch so as to drive a neat hole on the figure-head. All the labels should then be defaced by the Bench Clerk who shall write his full name on each of them in red ink in such a way that portions of his name will be beyond the labels on either side. The Court-fee shall be accounted for in the Court-fee register, the pro forma of which is given in Appendix- 7. A reference to the serial number of the entry in this register with the date of entry and the value of the stamp shall be given in the body of the petition (not on any stamp). The application shall at the same time be registered as a mutation case in the mutation register as required by Rule 35. The pro forma in which the mutation register is to be maintained is given in Appendix-8. All officers who exercise mutation powers shall have separate mutation registers, separate Court- fee registers and other registers.

After the mutation application has been entered in the mutation register the connected case record shall be sent to Record Keeper. He shall check the application on the basis of the existing entries in the record of rights. This is to say he will examine if the statements made in the application provide sufficient information to warrant a change in the record-of-rights or any information is lacking. In particular he will see if the khata number, Plot number and name of the recorded tenant have been correctly mentioned in the application. If he finds that this has been done and the application gives complete information, he shall append a certificate to that effect on the back of the application and submit the record to the Tahasildar who shall admit the application for initiation of proceedings. This work shall be completed within three working days from the date of receipt of the mutation application. The Tahasildar shall ensure this in all cases and if he finds that the existing staff in the Record Room will not be able to cope with the volume of work he should promptly apply to the Collector for augmentation of the staff, The Collector shall, if he is satisfied that sanction has to be applied for extra staff, submit an application in this regard to the Director of Land Records and Surveys.

If the application is found to be incorrect or deficient in information required, the Tahasildar shall direct the petitioner to file an amendment petition within one week from the date on which the order is received by him (petitioner). The amendment petition shall be on plain paper and shall not bear any Court Fee Stamp.

If the amendment petition is not filed in time the case shall strike off unless the Tahasildar in his discretion. allows further time. Generally cases where the amendment petition is not filed within reasonable time are struck off. When a case is struck off, note to that effect shall be made in the remarks column of the mutation register.

If the application is admitted the Tahasidar shall order the petitioner to deposit the process fee required within seven days at the rates prescribed under Rule 37. The amount of process fee to be realized shall be mentioned in the order sheet of the case record by the Tahasildar. It shall be realized in shape of Court fee stamps and shall be entered in the Court Fee Register.

If the petitioner fails to deposit the process fee in time, the Tahasildar may in his discretion, give him further time to deposit the fee or may strike off the case. Generally cases where the fee is not paid within reasonable time are struck off. If the case is struck off a reference to that effect shall be made in the remarks column of the mutation register.

Where an amendment petition is necessarv on an application for mutation, no process fee shall be realised unless the amendment petition is checked and found correct and the petition is admitted for initiation of proceeding.

On the date of realisation of process fee, the Tahasildar shall issue a general notice in the form given in the Appendix (Form No.9 of the Rules) inviting objections from persons interested within a period of thirty days from the date of service.

As required under Rule 4,the general notice shall be served in the manner prescribed for the service of summons on defendant under Code of Civil Procedure. The relevant extracts from the Code of Civil Procedure are given in Appendix-10. It can also be served by proclamation and beat of drums and posting it in the presence of not less than two persons to some conspicuous place in the village such as the Grama Panchayat Office, Recreation Club and the like and also by fixing it in the village office, if any, where the rent is usually paid. The signature of at least two persons shall be take on the back of the office copy of the notice in token of due service. The certificate of the process-server at the back of the office copy of thenotice shall mention the manner of service and names of persons present at the time or service. This certificate shall be authenticated by the Nazir or solemnly affirmed before the Tahasildar. In case of an uninhabited village, the seryice of such notice shall be by the above method in the nearest inhabited village.

Individual notice (in Form No. 10 of the Rules, Appendix II) shall be served on all persons whose interest may, in the opinion of the Tahasildar, be affected and all such persons shall be called upon to attend at such time and place as the Tahasildar may fix for the disposal of the case.

Individual notice may not be necessary in all cases whereas a general notice has to be served in all cases. The following are some illustrations of the point:

As soon as a proceeding is initiated under any of the paragraphs 19 to 24 of this Chapter, that is otherwise than on a specific application, it shall be registered as mutation case in the mutation register. The connected case record shall then be sent to the Record Keeper for check and report as indicated in paragraph 29. The report of the Record Keeper may in some cases indicate that certain additional information are required so as to make the basic information complete. In such a case if the proceeding has been initiated under any of the paragraphs 19 or 20, then the person on whose report it has been initiated shall be asked to supply the omissions. If the proceeding has been initiated under paragraph 24, the Naib-Tahasildar shall be asked to supply the omissions. If the proceeding has been indicated under any of the paragraphs 21 to 23 the party interested, namely, the party in whose favour the land records are likely to be corrected, shall be asked to supply the requisite information. In all such cases, the Tahasildar shall see that delay in obtaining the requisite information does not occur. On receipt of the requisite information, the general notice as mentioned in paragraph 35 shall be issued. In all cases of this type individual notice shall also be issued on all persons who are interested in the land in question as ascertainable from the record-of-rights and on all persons in whose favour the record-of-rights is likely to be corrected. No process fee for the issue of general and individual notice need be realised from anybody in these cases.

The general notice and the individual notice shall he issued simultaneously.

All processes shall be handed over to the Nazir of service after being entered in the process register. The headings of this register are given in Appendix-12.

Objection petitions in response to the general notice or individual notice are required under Rule 40 to be filed within thirty days from the date of service. Every such petition shall bear Court-fee stamp worth one rupee. All objection petitions shall be entered in a register called Mutation Case Objection Petition Register. The proforma of the register is given in
 Appendix-13.

On the date of the first hearing the Tahasildar shall first ascertain whether the period of objection which is thirty days from the date of service of the general notice is over. In case period has not yet been over because of delay in service of the notice, the Tahasildar shall fix another date after the period of objection.

The period of objection is fifteen days not thirty days. (See 1 Rule 40 under Appendix-I).

If the proceeding has been initiated on an application the applicant shall be called upon to adduce evidence in support of his claim on the date of hearing. After the applicant's evidence is closed the objector shall be called upon to give evidence in support of his objection. In other cases, that is, in cases initiated under any of the paragraphs 29 to 24 it is only the objector who will be asked to give evidence in support of his objection to the mutation proposed to be effected on the basis of the information forming the starting point of proceedings. This information need not be formally proved by anybody, ordinary objection petition received after the period of thirty days will be summarily rejected and in such a case the objector need not be called upon to adduce any evidence or remain present at the time of subsequent hearings. But the Tahasildar may, in his discretion admit any objection petition filed after the period of thirty days for good and sufficient reasons.

The parties have to furnish lists of witnesses present and documents produced. The names of the witnesses shall be entered in the register for attendance of witnesses in Revenue Courts. The proforma of this register is given in Appendix-14.

As provided in Rules 3 and 41 all enquiries considered necessary for the disposal of mutation cases like all other proceedings conducted under the Act are to be summary in nature. That is to say, elaborate and detailed recording of evidence and statements is not necessary. Only a substance thereof need be recorded. It has however to be noted that 'summary' does not mean 'arbitrary' and all relevant facts necessary for coming to a decision must be kept on the record. Rule 3 requires that as far as may be practicable, certain stages of the enquiry are to be governed by certain provisions of the First Schedule of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908. These provisions are given in Appendix-15. The procedure cannot be made so summary as to short-circuit the spirit of any of these provisions. At the same time it is necessary to impress on the parties that mutation proceedings are a fiscal enquiry and therefore they cannot decide any title. Hence, it is a waste of everybody time, energy and money to undertake elaborate examination of the title in a mutation proceeding.

Prima facie title coupled with possession is sufficient to merit full recognition in the record-of-rights, The following are some of the more important points which are relevant for deciding mutation cases, namely

Care should always be taken to see that full recognition is not allowed in favour of person in possession who have no title under the Law. Thus when a person is in possession of a landed property though purchase and the law requires that transaction should be through a registered instrument he can be given full recognition in the record- of-rights only if the purchase has been effected through a registered instrument or, if he has perfected by adverse possession. Otherwise his possession only can be recorded in the remarks column of the plot or plots concerned giving details of the transaction, like the date of sale, consideration money paid etc. Similarly when a person is in possession of land obtained on transfer from a member of a Scheduled Tribe, such possession is to be construed as coupled with title if permission of competent authority to transfer the property as required under the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960, or the Orissa Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property (By Scheduled Tribes) Regulation, 1956 was obtained' in addition to satisfying all other conditions of transfer of title. Otherwise illegal possession of the transferee will be noted in the remarks column with the details of such possession. Similarly, where transfer of a rent-free tenancy is subject to prior permission of a revenue authority, there can be no transfer of title without such permission and a mutation case cannot give full recognition to the transferee in possession in such a case. He can be shown in the remarks column as an illegal transferee. Where the tenancy law requires that on transfer, the status of a land will change or higher assessment will be levied (as in the case of rent-free tenures of Dhenkanal and Kamakshayanagar Sub-divisions), the order in the mutation case will cover these points' specifically; that is to say, the amount of new assessment shall be mentioned in the order as well as the status under which the land will be recorded.

Where mutation fee is payable to Government, the final order shall make a mention of the amount so payable and the party by whom it is payable. Though mutation can be allowed in such cases if other conditions are satisfied, the final order cannot be implemented until the fee is paid. The fee realised shall be accounted for in the register of measurement and mutation fees (Appendix-16) as well as in the subsidiary register of miscellaneous receipts in the Tahasil Office (Appendix-I7).

No Sub-division of a holding can be allowed unless all the parties interested in the same decree to it, though the advantage of Sub-division of tenancy generally out-weigh disadvantages. Freedom of subdivision may in some cases cause an increase in the number of holdings, but much can be done to counteract this by always amalgamating tenancies of the same status when they come under possession of one person. Moreover, it is easier as a Rule, to Collect rent from an individual than from a number of persons with conflicting interest in the land. It must tend to the benefits of the share-holders that sub-division of holdings should be allowed, when for one reason or another it has become difficult for them to hold the land in common.

In case of subdivision of holdings the effect of sub-division on the rent allotted to each new holding shall be explained to the parties. The Sub-diyision of rent should be equitable. If rent is correlated to classification of land, this shall not be disturbed at the time of subdivision of holding of distribution of rent.

In case of registered sale deeds, the division of rent mentioned therein shall be accepted without any change unless the parties are agreeable to any other division. Prima facie inequity in division of rent as mentioned in the sale deeds should however be brought to the notice of parties and they will be asked to consider if they want to make it equitable. Equitable division should also be suggested to them.

Mutation on account of partition of landed properties shall be allowed only when the partition has been effected in conformity with the provisions of law for the time being in force.
No partition of a holding among co-share raiyats shall be valid unless made by :

In case of disappearance of a person for more than seven continuous years and in the absence of any evidence to show that he is still alive,he should be considered dead and mutation shall be allowed in favour of legal heirs applying for the same.Where there are no legal heirs,it may be effected in favour of the persons in possession of the land ascertained after due enquiry. In such cases proper field enquiry preferably by the Tahasildar himself is necessary.

Mutation may be granted in favour of persons having no document of title, but found in course of an enquiry to have been in possession of any private property as reputed owners for a period of 12 years or more.

In some cases the period of undisputed possession may be less than twelve years. In such cases a note of adverse possession shall be entered in the remarks column of the Khatian along with the date from which the possession commences.

If in course of the proceedings, the Tahasildar deems it necessary to issue individual notice to any other persons for the reasons mentioned in paragraph-38, such a notice shall be issued promptly in the form given in Appendix-II.

If in the course of enquiry any measurement of land of field enquiry is deemed necessary, the party applying for mutation or claiming such measurement or enquiry, as the case may be, has to deposit the requisite fee at the rates prescribed under Rule 38. Where a proceeding is initiated under any of the paragraphs 19 to 24, the person in whose favour the record-of-rights is likely to be corrected shall be called upon to pay the fee if there' is no specific claim for measurement or enquiry by any other person.

The actual payment of the fee shall be made to the cashier or to any other person authorised to receive the fee. The payer is entitled to a receipt in O. T.C. Form No.5. The payment shall be entered in the subsidiary register of miscellaneous receipts. The pro forma of this register is given in Appendix-I7).

An account of the fee realised shall also be maintained in the register of measurement and mutation fees. The pro forma of the register is given in Appendix-16.

Ordinarily the work of measurement of field enquiry has to be done by the Naib- Tahasildar, only after realization of the fee whenever such fee is realisable. When the Naib- Tahasildar does not know survey, the work shall be entrusted to one of the Amins attached to the Tahasil Office or to any other subordinate as the Tahasildar may decide. A copy of the mutation application (with its enclosure, if any) or the requisite information shall be given to him for facility of enquiry. His report shall be furnished in a form called Amin's enquiry report form. It is given in Appendix-I8. A percentage (not less than 10) of these reports shall be checked by the Tahasildar on the spot.

In cases involving- measurement, the enquiry report should be accompanied by a separate tracing or printed copy of the village map or so much of it as is necessary showing the plots affected and the alterations required, the latter being in red ink.

The party requiring the Tahasildar to serve notice on any witness in course of the proceeding shall have to pay process fee at the rates mentioned in paragraph 32. No process can be issued until the requisite fee is paid in shape of Court-fee stamps. If a party does not pay the fee within reasonable time the case shall proceed without waiting for him.

When no objection has been filed within the period allowed and adequate service of the general notice and the individual notice, if any issued, is proved, final order can be passed on the date of first hearing provided the case does not involve spot enquiry or measurement. Most of the mutation cases are of this nature. But there will be a large number of cases where objections have to be heard, witnesses have to be examined, or spot enquiry and measurement have to be conducted. It shall be the endeavour of the TahasiIdar to dispose of such cases as promptly as possible.

The Tahasildar shall maintain a Court diary in the form given in Appendix-19. Entries under different dates mentioned in the diary shall be made as soon as cases are posted to these. This work shall not be allowed to accumulate.

Every witness is to be examined viva voce on solemn affirmation in open Court in the presence of the Presiding Officer (Tahasildar).

The Tahasildar must not be engaged in any other business while the examination of any witness is going on or while documentary evidence is being read.

The examination of any witness must not be interrupted unless the Tahasildar is compelled to attend to any other business of an urgent nature which fact should be recorded in the order sheet of the case.

The Tahasildar shall make in his own hand, a memorandum of the substance of what each witness deposes. Such memorandum must be written legibly in English or Oriya, it must be signed and dated by him and is to form a part of the record. It must always be sent up with the record to the Appellate or Revisional Court in the event of an appeal or revision, as the case may be. The memorandum of evidence has to be signed by the witness concerned after it is read out and explained to him.

After the examination of the witnesses has commenced the case has to proceed until all the witnesses on both sides have been examined (those of the party upon whom the onus of proof lies being examined first and then those of the opposite party). Adjournment of the hearing must not be allowed except for sufficient cause, which must be recorded.

Case may arise in which, from the absence of an important witness, which could not be avoided by the party who requires his evidence, it may be necessary to adjourn the hearing. In such cases the evidence of the witnesses in attendance must be taken and witnesses must not be obtained or required to attend again unless for some special reasons to be recorded.

Whenever an adjournment takes place it must be for as short a time as possible regard being had to the circumstances under which the adjournment is granted.

No adjournment must be granted in any case except viva voce in open Court. The date to which the case is adjourned and reason for the adjournment must in all cases be stated publicly by the Presiding Officer in the open Court and recorded in the order sheet.

If, after all, the witnesses have been examined, the exhibits perused and the parties heard, by themselves or through their lawyers the Presiding Officer is not prepared to deliver the judgment, he may postpone the delivery thereof until a future date of which due notice must be given to the parties or their lawyers. The witnesses must not be detained.

The gist of the judgment, as written, must be pronounced viva voce in open Court, either in the language in which it is written or in the language used in the Court.

Correction of record-of-rights (including the map) according to orders passed in a mutation case shall be made after expiry of forty-five days from the date of final orders and after the mutation fee whenever payable to Government has been paid. Changes in the entries in the record-of-rights shall be carried out under due attestation of the Tahasildar. Reference to the number of mutation case must be given in all changes. All changes must be recorded in red ink.

Changes in the record-of-rights shall not be effected in cases in which appeals or revisions have been preferred. The record-of-rights can be corrected only after appeals or revisions as the case may be, are finalised.

Before effecting corrections in the record-of-rights, the Tahasildar should ensure that no application for copy of the judgment lies pending in his office. In such cases it should be presumed that the copy has been asked for which the intention to go in on appeal. Hence, the Tahasildar should wait for a reasonable time; say for about a fortnight, after the grant of the copy before correcting the record-of-rights. If within this period intimation of appeal is received, the record-of- rights cannot be corrected, until the disposal of the appeal.

When a new holding is created it should be allotted a new number following the last in the serial of the same status. To cite an example, suppose there are 100 Raiyati Khatas(holding) and five Chandra Khata in a village, the Raiyati Khatas coming first and then the Chandra Khatas. The Raiyati Khatas will bear numbers from 1 to 100 and the Chandra Khatas form 101 to 105. If a new Raiyati Khata is created it should be numbered as 100/1. If another Khata is created thereafter it should be numbered as 100/2 and so on. Similarly if a new Chandra Khata is opened, it should be numbered as 105/1 and so on.

When land has been acquired for a department of Union or State Government, it should be recorded in. a Departmental Khata to be created if necessary. Land acquired for the Revenue Department will however be recorded in the Rakhit Khata. Similarly new holdings should be created for a local body or a company when land has been acquired for such a body or a company.

If all lands included in a holding are, in course of time transferred from that holding, it should be left blank, but its Khata number cannot be used for any other holding.

If a plot is subdivided and formed into more than one plot each plot will be allotted number, the original number being allotted to the plot retained in the original holding. In case no plot is retained in original holding, the original plot number will be allotted to one of the newly formed plots which is nearest to the pending plot number. Other plots will be allotted numbers next to the last number in the village map. For instance, if plot number 190 is divided into two parts and the last plot number in the village is 305, one part of the plot number 190, will carry the original number 190 and the other part will be numbered 306. At the bottom of the relevant sheet of the village map, this net number should be shown in red ink as 190/306. In the record-or-right this new plot number should also be written as 190/306.

When it is necessary to fully amalgamate a plot of land, with an adjoining plot, the number of the first plot will be eliminated and a note to that effect should be left at the bottom of the relevant sheet of the village map.

Much of the efficiency of revenue administration depends, on up-to-date maintenance of the map and the record-of-rights. It is therefore the duty of the Tahasildar to see that all changes ordered by him are incorporated in them as early as possible. The work is to be done by the Record Room staff. If the staffs are inadequate to cope with the work, sanction for additional staff should be applied for to Director of Land Records and Surveys through the Collector.

When the correction of record-of-rights is taken up according to orders passed on a mutation case, an intimation slip in the form' given in Appendix-20 with a sketch map showing corrections, if any in the map duly authenticated shall be forwarded to the Naib- Tahasildar in duplicate. One copy shall be returned within 15 days from the date of receipt by the Naib-Tahasildar with an endorsement that he has retained a copy of the slip. Until the returnable copy is received by the Tahasildar, he shall not show the connected mutation case as disposed of. The intimation slip returned to the Tahasildar shall form a part of the connected case record.

The slips along with sketch maps retained by the Naib- Tahasildar shall be serially arranged and kept in a separate guard file in the order they are received, a list of contents being attached to the guard file.

A register of changes shall be maintained by the Naib- Tahasildar in the form given in Appendix-21. It shall be filled up on the basis of facts mentioned in intimation slip. The date on which the register is filed up shall be noted in the intimation slip.

The Naib-Tahasildar's copy of record-of-rights shall be corrected on the basis of the intimation slip and each corrected entry shall be arrested by the Naib-Tahasildar quoting the case number mentioned in the intimation slip as the authority for such correction. All corrections shall be in red ink. The attestation shall be counter-signed by the Tahasildar when he visits the office of the Naib-Tahasildar.

In the Tahasildar's copy as well as in the Naib-Tahasildar's copy of the record-of-rights one or more full sheets are allotted to each holding (khata). The blank space left in these sheets is intended to accommodate future corrections, where, however, the blank space is used up by a number of corrections a new sheet to accommodate further corrections has to be inserted immediately below the last sheet meant for holding.

Power of re-writing the record-of-rights or part thereof rest with the Collector of the district according to Rule 45. Therefore, the Tahasildar shall obtain the order of the Collector in writing in case a Khata is to be re-written due to numerous changes of illegibility. The record-of-rights so re-written shall bear a certificate under the facsimile signature and seal of the Collector or any other officer duly empowered by him in this behalf. A copy duly certified by the Tahasildar shall be transmitted to the Collector. This rule applies to the copy of the record-of-rights kept in the custody of the Naib- Tahasildar.

Power of replacement of the map or a part thereof by a revised copy also rests with the Collector of the district according to Rule 46. Therefore the Tahasildar shall obtain the orders of the Collector in writing in case a map is to be prepared afresh due to incorporation of numerous changes. The map so prepared shall bear a certificate under the facsimile signature and seal of the Collector or any other officer duly empowered by him in this behalf. A copy thereof duly certified by the Tahasildar shall be transmitted to the Collector. This Rule applies to the map kept in the custody of the Naib- Tahasildar.

Inspecting officers shall ensure that the Naib- Tahasildar's copy of record-of-rights and map are maintained up-to-date. They shall check all the intimation slips received after the last inspection with the corresponding entries in the register of changes. They shall also check some percentages of changes in record-of-rights against the entries made in the intimation slips.

Under Clause (3) of Rule 42 the Collector has the authority to delegate his appellate powers to any of his subordinate revenue officers higher in rank than SDO and the RDO. The delegation can be made with prior sanction of Board of Revenue obtained through the Director of Land Records and Surveys. This power may be vested, on officers by designation so as to avoid references to Board with transfer of each officer unless the intention is to give powers to an, additional officer to clear up pending cases only in which case the delegation may be made by name.

The Collector may transfer to the file of any officer who exercises appellate powers any appeal filed before him against the original orders of SDO or RDO passed in a mutation case. Under the provision of clause (a) of Sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 31 of the Act he has the authority to distribute work among the officers working in the district. This power has to be exercised in distributing business if the number of officers exercising appellate powers is more than one. The order has to be in writing and has to be passed as soon as the number of officers exercising appellate powers is more than one. The order has to be in writing and has to be passed as soon as the number of officers exceeds one so that no officer may remain without work. The Collector can withdraw any case from the file of any appellate authority and may dispose it of himself or may transfer it to any other appellate authority working under him. These powers may be exercised when circumstances similar to those mentioned in paragraph 15 exist.

According to Clause (b) of Rule 42 an appeal must be presented within thirty days from the date of the order appealed against. For calculating this period the day on which the judgment complained of was pronounced and the time actually taken for obtaining a copy of the order appealed against shall be excluded.

It is very often seen that much time is taken by the copying section of the office to supply certified copies applied for as a result of which appeal cases are delayed greatly. In this connection it should be borne in mind that failure to comply with one rule might greatly upset the working of another. If such delay is allowed, it is sure that there will be equal amount of delay in incorporating the changes in the record-of-rights which means that the very purpose of mutation will be frustrated. The officer-in-charge of the copying section should ensure that copies are supplied to applicants strictly in accordance with the rules on the subject.

Every application for appeal shall be accompanied with a certified copy of the order appealed against.

If the last day of appeal period falls on a holiday, application .for appeal can be accepted on the day the Court re-opens thereafter.

The application for appeal shall bear a Court-fee stamp of rupees four as provided in Item 12 of Schedule I of the rules. The stamps shall be punched, cancelled and accounted for as mentioned in paragraph 28 before the appeal is registered as a case under paragraph 100.