Certified Copies of Revenue Records (Khatauni/Khasra) in Uttar Pradesh — Procedure and Evidentiary Value

This article is for educational and legal awareness purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice or solicitation. Please consult a qualified advocate for advice on specific legal matters.

Overview

Two revenue documents come up constantly in property matters in Uttar Pradesh: the Khatauni, the record of rights that shows who holds a particular plot and in what share, and the Khasra, the village field book that records the plot-wise survey and cultivation details. Both are maintained under the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006 (UP Revenue Code). A plain printout of either — for instance, one downloaded from a public portal for quick reference — is not the same thing as a certified copy bearing the signature, seal, and date of the officer who holds custody of the record. Where a Khatauni or Khasra entry is to be relied upon before a court, a bank, a registering authority, or in a mutation or partition proceeding, it is ordinarily the certified copy that carries evidentiary weight.

This article sets out the difference between the two kinds of copies, where each can be obtained in Uttar Pradesh, and why the certified copy matters in litigation.

Statutory Framework

The record itself — UP Revenue Code, 2006

The Khatauni and Khasra are prepared and maintained under the UP Revenue Code, and Section 40 of the Code (as substituted by the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 2016) provides:

“All entries in the village map, field book (Khasra) and record of right (Khatauni) prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Code shall be presumed to be true, until the contrary is proved.”

This presumption is important for anyone relying on these records: an entry is treated as correct unless someone disproves it, which is why the accuracy of the underlying document — and the authenticity of the copy produced — matters.

The copy — Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

The law of evidence governing proceedings on or after 1 July 2024 is the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA), which replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Three provisions of the BSA are directly relevant to a revenue-record copy:

Section 74 classifies documents as public or private. Documents “forming the acts or records of the acts” of public officers — which includes the Lekhpal, Kanungo, and Tahsildar who maintain the Khatauni and Khasra — are public documents.
Section 75, headed “Certified copies of public documents,” requires that “every public officer having the custody of a public document, which any person has a right to inspect, shall give that person on demand a copy of it on payment of the legal fees therefor, together with a certificate written at the foot of such copy that it is a true copy,” dated and subscribed with the officer’s name and official title, and sealed where the officer is authorised to use a seal. It is this certificate, signature, and seal that make a printout a certified copy in the legal sense.
Section 76 provides that such certified copies “may be produced in proof of the contents of the public documents … of which they purport to be copies” — meaning a certified copy can itself be tendered as evidence, without having to produce or separately prove the original register.

Read together, these provisions are why a certified copy of the Khatauni or Khasra — rather than an informal printout — is what is typically asked for in court filings, loan applications, and similar formal use.

Two Ways to Get a Copy in Uttar Pradesh

1. Viewing/downloading a computerised copy — the Bhulekh portal

Uttar Pradesh’s land-records portal, Bhulekh (upbhulekh.gov.in), allows a member of the public to look up land records online. A printout obtained this way is useful for quick reference — to check the current recorded holder, khata/khasra number, or area of a plot before applying further. It is not, by itself, the certified copy described in Section 75 BSA, because it does not carry a dated certificate signed and sealed by the officer having custody of the register. Where the purpose is only to verify the recorded position informally, the portal copy may suffice; where the copy is needed for a court filing, a bank, a registering authority, or any other formal purpose, an applicant should confirm with that authority whether the portal printout is accepted or whether an officer-certified copy is required.

2. Obtaining a certified copy — the Tehsil office and e-District UP

A certified copy in the Section 75 BSA sense is obtained from the revenue officer who has custody of the record — in practice, through the Tehsil office, where the application is processed with the Lekhpal’s and Kanungo’s verification and the copy is issued and attested under the Tahsildar’s authority. Uttar Pradesh’s e-District portal (edistrict.up.gov.in) also lists Khatauni-related services among the citizen services it offers alongside certificates, pensions, and revenue-case services, so an applicant should check the current service list and fee schedule on that portal, or at the Tehsil office directly, as the specific application form, documents, and fee can vary by district and are revised from time to time.

As a general matter, an applicant would need to identify the property precisely — village, pargana, tehsil and district, and the khata or khasra number, or the recorded holder’s name — before applying, either online through the applicable service or in person at the Tehsil.

Evidentiary Value and Its Limits

A certified copy of the Khatauni or Khasra is useful evidence, but it is important to be precise about what it does and does not prove.

Under Section 40 of the UP Revenue Code, the entries are presumed true, and under Sections 75 and 76 of the BSA, a certified copy can be produced in court to prove what the record says, without needing to summon the original register or the record-keeping officer.
This makes the certified copy a practical way to place possession and the recorded revenue status of land before a court — for example, in a suit for injunction or in a mutation dispute.
What it does not do is prove ownership. In Suraj Bhan & Ors. v. Financial Commissioner & Ors., (2007) 6 SCC 186, the Supreme Court held that entries in revenue records serve only a “fiscal purpose,” namely the collection of land revenue, and that “an entry in Revenue Records does not confer title on a person whose name appears in Record of Rights.” Where title itself is disputed, that question has to be decided in a properly instituted civil suit; the certified copy is evidence of the recorded position, not a determination of ownership.

Practical Points

Decide the purpose first: a Bhulekh printout may be enough to check the current recorded position, but a court filing, bank transaction, or similar formal use will generally call for an officer-certified copy under Section 75 BSA.
Have the property particulars — village, pargana, tehsil, district, and khata/khasra number — ready before applying; this avoids delay at the Tehsil or on the portal.
Confirm the current fee and required documents with the Tehsil office or on the e-District UP portal, since these are revised from time to time and can vary by district.
Remember that a certified copy, however current, only proves what the record says — it does not by itself settle a title dispute, which needs a civil suit.
Where the underlying entry itself is under challenge — for instance, a pending mutation dispute — obtaining a fresh certified copy close to the date it is needed helps ensure it reflects the latest recorded position.

Takeaway

A Khatauni or Khasra printout from the Bhulekh portal and a certified copy obtained from the Tehsil under Section 75 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 serve different purposes: the former is for quick reference, the latter for formal and evidentiary use. Both draw their reliability from the presumption of truth attached to these entries under Section 40 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006 — but, as the Supreme Court held in Suraj Bhan, that presumption goes to the fiscal record, not to ownership. A litigant relying on revenue records should obtain the certified copy appropriate to the purpose and understand that a separate civil suit remains the route to settle a genuine title dispute.

Useful Resources

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for general legal awareness and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, advertisement, or solicitation. No reader should act or refrain from acting based on this information without seeking professional legal counsel. Advocate Akhil Singh and this website are not liable for any actions taken based on the content provided herein.