Panji-II and Khatiyan: how to read a Jharkhand land record
What the current register and the settlement record each tell you, why the CNT and SPT Acts come first, and what a Lagan receipt is actually evidence of.
Jharkhand has two records for the same land and they were made a lifetime apart. The Khatiyan is the survey record from the cadastral settlement. Panji-II is the live register at the anchal office. A title question usually needs both, and a great deal of confusion comes from reading one and expecting it to answer for the other.
First: which tenancy act applies
This comes before reading anything else. The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act governs most of Jharkhand; the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act governs Dumka, Deoghar, Godda, Sahibganj, Pakur and Jamtara. Both restrict transfer of land held by a member of a Scheduled Tribe, and the SPT Act is the stricter of the two. A sale that ignores them is not merely irregular, so what is permitted on a specific parcel is a question for the Anchal Adhikari and an advocate before it is a question about paperwork.
The Khatiyan
The Khatiyan records the raiyat, the Khata and the Khesra numbers as they stood when the village was surveyed. Inheritance and old title work is traced through it, and a deed naming a number the current register does not show usually reconciles here. It is a historical record: accurate about the settlement, and silent about everything since.
Panji-II
Panji-II is Register II, the current record of rights held at the anchal office: who holds each Khesra number now and how much area. This is what a buyer or a bank reads for the present position. A certified copy comes from the Anchal Adhikari.
Bhuinhari, and tenure that is not simply ownership
Land held under Bhuinhari tenure, the original clearer's tenure, is recognised separately in the Chhotanagpur record and kept in its own register. Bhuinhari rights descend within the family that cleared the land and carry their own restrictions, so a Bhuinhari entry changes what a transaction can be rather than merely describing it.
The Lagan receipt
A Lagan receipt is issued when land revenue is paid against a holding. A current receipt in the holder's name is treated in practice as evidence that the record recognises them, which is why it is asked for alongside Panji-II. It is evidence about the record rather than proof of title, and it is worth being precise about that difference.
Dakhil-Kharij
Dakhil-Kharij is mutation: the entry that records a transfer against the holding in Panji-II. Until it is done the register still names the previous raiyat regardless of what a sale deed says. Checking its status is the practical first step in verifying that a seller can sell, once the tenancy-act question has been settled.
From the record to the map
Panji-II lists Khesra numbers and stops there. Which of them adjoin each other, and what the holding looks like as one shape, comes from the map sheets they fall on. A holding scattered across a mauza means several sheets, and joining them into one drawing is usually the last step before a Dakhil-Kharij application, a valuation or a court annexure.
🔗 Jharkhand land and survey glossary →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Khatiyan and Panji-II?+
The Khatiyan is the settlement-era survey record, showing the raiyat and the Khesra numbers as they stood when the village was surveyed. Panji-II is the current register at the anchal office showing who holds the plot now. A title question usually needs both.
Which districts does the SPT Act cover?+
The Santhal Pargana districts: Dumka, Deoghar, Godda, Sahibganj, Pakur and Jamtara. The CNT Act governs most of the rest of the state. Which applies follows from the district the land is in, and the SPT Act is the stricter of the two.
Is a Lagan receipt proof of ownership?+
No. It shows that land revenue was paid against the holding in that name, which is treated in practice as evidence that the record recognises the holder. Title comes from the deeds and the chain behind them.