Darkhwast Durustgi Khasra Girdawari (Application to Correct the Crop-Inspection and Possession Entry)

ਸਟਾਂਪ ਡਿਊਟੀ

No ad valorem stamp duty — not an instrument of transfer (unlike an actual Punjab sale, which draws 5% duty plus cess and fees). No mutation fee either, since no mutation is involved. Unlike a fard badar, a COURT FEE genuinely is payable here, because this is a contested proceeding before the Revenue Officer sitting as a revenue court: Schedule II, Court Fees Act, 1870 (as amended for Punjab, 2009) sets it at roughly Rs 10 for an application to a Revenue Officer — a weakly sourced figure, so confirm the exact article at the counter; it can be paid via e-stamp. The affidavit is arguably exempt under Article 4, Schedule I's court-filing exemption (since this Revenue Officer is sitting as a court) — an untested argument most counters will ignore anyway, so expect to buy a small stamp paper at a denomination this template can't source; ask the counter. Copying follows the same Rs 20/page scale as other revenue copies, though a khasra girdawari extract isn't clearly listed in the published table — ask which entry the counter charges under, and get it on the receipt. A computerised nakal's Rule 71-B fee remains unpublished. Chandigarh sector property has no khasra girdawari and nothing here to stamp.

ਰਜਿਸਟਰੀ

Not registrable — section 17, Registration Act, 1908 doesn't reach a possession-record correction. File with the Halqa Patwari (who wrote the entry) or at the tehsil counter, or e-file on the Revenue Courts Management System (rcms.punjab.gov.in) — print the acknowledgment and hand the paper set to the Patwari too. Which counter is live is unsettled, as Fard Kendras may be merging into Sewa Kendras; ring ahead. How it's decided (Para 9.9(f)): notice to the other side, a hearing, and typically a spot inspection (mauka) with the Nambardar and local residents present, the Patwari producing the harvest book; an ordered correction is entered in red ink. The window is short: no correction after the harvest's kachha papers are drawn (Para 9.9(d)), and in practice only the CURRENT jamabandi period is reachable — file within the same agricultural year. No notified Right-to-Service time limit could be confirmed for this specific service (unlike copies or mutations) — ask in writing whether yours has been registered as one; contested revenue cases average around 437 days to disposal, so set expectations accordingly. Appeal an order to the Collector (30 days), then Commissioner (60 days), then Financial Commissioner (90 days) under sections 13/14, PLRA — get a certified copy of the order the same day, since the clock runs from the order date, not when you collect it. If the officer decides this is really a title dispute, the route becomes a civil suit (s.45, PLRA + s.34, Specific Relief Act, 1963) — not an appeal. What you get if you win is a corrected possession record carrying the section 44 presumption, not a decree.

ਨੋਟਰੀ

The application itself needs no notarisation. The AFFIDAVIT, though, is close to essential here — not just office preference, since this is a contested possession case and your sworn account goes on file before the other side answers. Swear it before a Notary Public or an Oath Commissioner (Punjab & Haryana High Court), and check the register entry number and date are written on it before leaving — it will be attacked if the case is genuinely contested. The affidavit re-swears your possession, who you say is wrongly recorded, and any pending proceedings — matched carefully to your actual arrangement (self-cultivation, batai, cash rent) rather than over-swearing. Where there are joint applicants, each swears separately. Unusually, the APPLICANT should swear personally wherever reachable, including from abroad — an attorney swears only where the applicant genuinely cannot. An overseas applicant swears before an Indian consular officer, or notarises locally with apostille/legalisation. A power of attorney executed abroad must be stamped in India within three months of receipt (s.18, Stamp Act) and produced in original before the Patwari and the officer. Sworn statements from the Nambardar or local witnesses carry far more weight than unattested letters at the spot inspection. Never swear that nothing is pending when something is — a girdawari won on a false affidavit is both undone and remembered against you.

ਗਵਾਹ

No statutory witness requirement (not a deed) — but witnesses matter MORE here than on any other revenue application, because this is a factual dispute about a field, resolved at a spot inspection. The Nambardar isn't a witness you control — the officer asks him, and his word carries real weight. Name the specific villagers or neighbours you want examined; naming nobody means the application asks for nothing. Bring documentary support too: electricity/diesel bills, seed or fertiliser invoices, an arhtiya's account, a mandi J-Form, insurance enrolment, lease or batai receipts — most Punjab tenancies are informal and unwritten, so receipts and witnesses together carry the case. The crop itself is the best evidence: ask for inspection while it's still standing, not after it's ploughed under. Crucially, name and give the address of the person on the other side of this dispute — notice must issue to him, and an order made without notice WILL be set aside on appeal. Each applicant signs and verifies separately; an attorney signs in their own name, with the power of attorney produced in original before the Patwari and the officer.