Darkhwast Nishandehi (Application for Demarcation of Land)

Stamp duty

No stamp duty — s.2(14)/s.3, Stamp Act 1899: asking an officer to walk to a field creates no right, so no Schedule I-A article catches it. Plain paper or the department's form. It attracts COURT FEE, not duty — Court Fees Act, 1870 as amended in Punjab: Art 1(b) Sch II (petition to a Collector/subordinate officer), Art 4 (affidavit), Art 10 (vakalatnama). Punjab has revised Sch II repeatedly with no current dated notification confirmed as at 6 Sep 2026 — read the schedule at the CRO's office first. The affidavit IS chargeable — Article 4, Schedule I-A (Punjab), fixed nominal duty. Buy from a licensed vendor, via SHCIL e-stamp (above Rs 49,999), or via NeSL (Authorised Collection Centre for 5 non-registrable types incl. affidavits — Punjab E-Stamp Rules 2014, rr.2(c)/12/13; Notification e-office/188125-ST.2, 2024) — ask the current denomination. Don't leave an e-Stamp unlocked past 4 months (Stamp & Registration Branch No.07/15/2026-ST-2(PF-1)/10837, 11 Jul 2026 now locks these). Three more service charges: the LDS portal's own fee (shown only after OTP, unverified here); the Kanungo's/Patwari's travel/DA, labour and burji costs, usually on the applicant; and copying at the Patwari's scale (Manual para 3.48, Rule 71 PLR Rules) — Rs 20/page for a jamabandi copy, Rs 20 per 4 fields for a tracing (uncertain vintage — ask); a computerised nakal (Rule 71-B, Notification G.S.R/P.A/1887/Ss.155&156/Amd.2009) is charged separately. The Rs 600 mutation/Rs 200 pasting fees do NOT apply here. Punjab only — Chandigarh has its own department and fees.

Registration

Not registrable, not available — s.17(1) doesn't reach it (no right created/assigned/limited/extinguished), nor s.18's optional list. No fee, no window, no penalty — goes to the CRO, never the Sub-Registrar. Time-bound is the SERVICE: 45 days notified (2018 Act), 47 via a Sewa/Fard/Saanjh Kendra; first appeal SDM, second DC. No codified Punjab rule for the PROCEDURE itself was located as at 6 Sep 2026 — the basis is that notified service plus Chapter IX, PLRA 1887 (s.3(17): a survey-mark includes a boundary-mark) and settled practice. The report and tatima shajra go on the revenue record; get a certified copy from the Patwari (Manual para 3.48, Rs 20/page, uncertain vintage) for your prayer. One negative point: a demarcation ending in an exchange or purchase of strips is a SEPARATE, compulsorily registrable, ad valorem instrument — 5% + 1% cess + 1% registration (capped Rs 2,00,000) + 1% PIDB + facilitation + Rs 200 pasting, on the higher of consideration or the Collector rate. Register that separately — a demarcation report transfers nothing.

Notarisation

The application isn't notarised — signed/thumb-marked and verified, and that clause suffices. The affidavit MUST be sworn, on stamped paper, before a Notary (Notaries Act, 1952) or Oath Commissioner (P&H HC appointed) — the seal, register serial number AND date must all appear (a missing number is routinely returned); put the deponent's age on the face too. Fee: Rule 10, Notaries Rules, 1956 — get a receipt. The deponent must appear IN PERSON; if illiterate, the notary reads/explains in Punjabi first and records having done so. Sworn outside Punjab, any Indian Notary Public's certificate is receivable here.

Witnesses

No attesting witnesses — not a deed-type instrument under s.3, Transfer of Property Act, 1882 or s.63, Succession Act, 1925; two witnesses on a darkhwast just reads as copied from a sale-deed precedent. Instead: an identification block, since notaries want the deponent personally known or identified by someone who is (fill the optional block if asked; skip it if the notary IDs from photo ID). What actually decides the filing is the adjoining khasra holders on all four sides — name them in Part C, have the office summon them, and get them present at measurement; a demarcation without notice to a touched neighbour can be set aside on appeal.