Co-owners' consent now mandatory to sell land on a shared 7/12 extract in Maharashtra

The Devendra Fadnavis government has taken a major decision to make the sale of land held on a shared 7/12 extract safer. When such property is sold, the consent of the co-owners named on the same 7/12, their no-objection certificates and a copy of the land records have now been made mandatory.

The initiative has been taken by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The aim is to ensure that no deal can be struck keeping the others named on the same 7/12 in the dark. The government says this will prevent fraud in land transactions and will benefit both landowners and buyers.

Under the rule, registration of a document will be barred if the papers are incomplete. In other words, a deal will not move forward without valid documents.

The new rule requires the written consent of co-owners when any land or property on a shared 7/12 extract is sold. This consent of all the co-owners named on the 7/12 is necessary for the sale and purchase. The deal will not be completed without attaching a duly executed no-objection certificate from each of them.

A copy from the land records department is also required. That means official approval from the land records department relating to the measurement and division of the land must be obtained.

In villages and cities alike, several brothers and sisters are often named on the same 7/12. Often the names of the father, paternal aunt and paternal uncle also continue on an old 7/12. In such cases, some co-owners prepare forged documents and sell the land to a third person without the others getting wind of it.

Thousands of land fraud cases are pending in courts. The new rule is expected to considerably reduce this burden on the judiciary, and also to curb illegal buying and selling of land.

The revenue administration has issued the new rules. According to them, all valid documents and the consent of the co-owners are needed for the purchase and sale of land. The no-objection certificates of all of them must be produced. If such co-owners are not present at the sub-registrar's office at the time of the deal, the documents will not be registered.