Encumbrance Certificate Shows a Transaction That Is Not Yours

Who this guide is for

This guide is for you if a fresh EC lists a registered transaction that does not match your property's true history.

• Your EC shows a sale, gift, mortgage or lease deed you never executed.
• The survey number, plot number, door number, or extent on an entry does not match your property.
• A name on an entry belongs to a stranger or a neighbour, not to you or your seller's chain.
• The same transaction appears twice, or a deed from an adjacent property has been tagged to yours.
• A bank, buyer or registrar has stalled your sale, loan or mutation because of this stray entry.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Build your evidence file. Download a fresh EC for the full period that is relevant, and note the exact entry that is wrong, including its document number, year, the survey or plot number, and the names shown. Pull your own title chain together: your sale deed, the prior deeds you have, the property tax receipt, and the survey or sketch document your state uses, such as patta and chitta with the FMB sketch in Tamil Nadu, or the equivalent record-of-rights elsewhere. Write one or two plain lines stating why the entry is not yours.

Saturday

Prepare two parallel requests on Saturday.

• Draft a correction request to the Sub-Registrar's Office that issued the EC, attaching the wrong EC and your title documents, and pointing to the precise entry to be checked.
• Draft an RTI to that department's Public Information Officer asking for a certified copy of the document behind the disputed entry, and the index or register page where it is recorded.
• Keep both ready to lodge, and check your state Registration portal for the correction option and any token it generates.

Sunday

Lodge and log everything. Submit the correction request at the office or through your state Registration portal, and keep the acknowledgement or token number. File the RTI through your state RTI portal or by post to the office's PIO, and keep proof of filing and any fee receipt. Put the EC, your title documents, the correction acknowledgement, and the RTI filing in one folder, and set a reminder to follow up once the office's stated turnaround passes.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

1. Pin down exactly what is wrong on the EC. Read the disputed entry carefully and write down its document number, year, the survey, plot or door number, the extent, and the names shown. Compare each field against your own sale deed and survey record. Decide in one line whether the problem is a wrong number, a wrong name, a duplicate, or a deed that seems to belong to a different property. This precise description drives every request that follows.
2. Get a fresh, full-period EC and keep your title chain ready. Download a current EC covering the full period that matters from your state Registration portal, or obtain a certified copy from the Sub-Registrar's Office. Gather your sale deed, prior deeds, the survey or record-of-rights document, and the property tax receipt. Having the correct chain in hand lets the office and you both see clearly that the stray entry does not fit your property.
3. File an RTI for the document behind the entry. Send an RTI to the Public Information Officer of the state Registration and Stamps department, asking for a certified copy of the document recorded under that document number and year, and the index or register page where it appears. State registration is a state subject, so file through your state RTI portal or by post to the office's PIO, not the central RTI portal. This copy usually shows whether it is a clerical mix-up or a real deed of someone else.
4. Submit a written correction request to the Sub-Registrar. Give the Sub-Registrar's Office that issued the EC a written request, attaching the wrong EC and your title documents, and pointing to the exact entry. Ask them to verify it against the registered records and correct or de-link it if it does not relate to your property. Use the correction option on your state Registration portal if one exists, and keep the acknowledgement or token number.
5. Read the certified deed and decide the real cause. When the RTI copy arrives, check which property and parties the deed actually names. If it names a different survey or plot or different people, it is wrongly tagged to your EC and the office should correct the index. If it genuinely overlaps your property or extent, the issue is a title or boundary question, which usually needs a rectification or correction deed by the parties, or a civil remedy, not just an office correction.
6. Push the correction with the office, and escalate within the department. Follow up on your correction request after the office's stated turnaround, quoting your token. If it stalls, take it up the line to the District Registrar and the Inspector General of Registration for your state, attaching the EC, your title documents, and the RTI copy. A clerical or indexing error is the office's own record to fix, so keep the request squarely on that.
7. Use the RTI reply and a first appeal as leverage. If the PIO does not reply within the time allowed, or gives an evasive answer, file a first appeal with the First Appellate Authority named in the reply or on the department portal. A clear, dated RTI record of what was registered, and what action the office took, strengthens your correction request and any later complaint or court step.
8. Collect the corrected EC and re-verify before you transact. Once the office corrects the record, download a fresh EC and confirm the stray entry is gone and your details are right. Keep the corrected EC, the RTI copy, and the correction order together. Share the corrected EC with the bank, buyer, or registrar who raised the objection, so your sale, loan, or mutation can move ahead cleanly.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste complaint template

Adapt the bracketed parts. Keep a copy of everything you send.

To,
The Sub-Registrar
[Name of Sub-Registrar's Office]
[State Registration and Stamps Department]

Subject: Encumbrance Certificate for my property [survey/plot/door no., village/area, district] shows a transaction that does not relate to my property - request to verify and correct

Dear Sir/Madam,

I own the property described above. I obtained an Encumbrance Certificate from your office for the period [from] to [to]. The EC lists the following entry, which does not relate to my property:

- Document number and year: [doc no. / year]
- As shown on EC: [survey/plot/door no., names, transaction type]
- Why it is not mine: [e.g. the survey/plot number is different / the names are strangers to my title chain / it appears to belong to an adjacent property / it is a duplicate entry]

My correct title is supported by the documents enclosed: my sale deed, prior title deeds, the survey/record-of-rights document, and the property tax receipt.

I request you to:
1. Verify the above entry against the registered records and the index for my property.
2. Correct or de-link the entry if it does not relate to my property, and issue a corrected Encumbrance Certificate.
3. Inform me in writing of the action taken and the reason the entry was recorded against my property.

Kindly acknowledge this request with a reference/token number and confirm the expected timeline.

Documents enclosed: copy of the EC with the entry marked, sale deed, prior deeds, survey/record-of-rights document, property tax receipt, identity proof.

Thank you.

[Your full name]
[Address of the property]
[Mobile number]
[Email]
[Date]

When RTI can help

RTI is a strong tool here, because the Sub-Registrar's Office and the state Registration and Stamps department are public authorities. Use it to see the records behind the stray entry and to force a dated answer.

• Ask the Public Information Officer for a certified copy of the document recorded under the disputed document number and year, so you can see which property and parties it actually names.
• Ask for the index or register page where the entry sits, to show how it came to be tagged to your property.
• Ask for the status and outcome of your correction request, and the reason the entry was recorded against your property.
• File through your state RTI portal or by post to the office's PIO, since registration is a state subject and the central RTI portal does not cover state departments. If the PIO ignores you, a first appeal usually unlocks the answer.

When RTI will not help

RTI gets you records and forces a response, but it cannot decide who owns the property. If the certified deed turns out to be a genuine, validly registered transaction that overlaps your property or extent, that is a title or boundary dispute, not a clerical error, and RTI will not resolve it.

In that situation the correct routes are:

• A rectification or correction deed executed by the parties at the Sub-Registrar's Office, where both sides agree the description was wrong.
• A civil suit for declaration of title or to cancel the document, through a lawyer, where the parties do not agree.
• For a private buyer, seller, bank, or builder who is stalling your deal, the lever is your contract and consumer or banking remedies, since they are not public authorities and RTI does not apply to them.
• For delay or misconduct purely within the office, use the department's grievance cell and your state grievance portal alongside the RTI and first appeal.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Arguing at the counter without ever putting the correction request in writing, so there is no acknowledgement and no record to escalate.
• Not noting the exact document number and year of the wrong entry, which leaves the office and the PIO unable to find the deed quickly.
• Skipping the RTI for the underlying deed, so you never learn whether it is a clerical mix-up the office can fix or a real overlap that needs a deed or a court.
• Filing the RTI on the central portal when registration is a state subject, instead of using your state RTI portal or the office's PIO.
• Assuming any error needs a court case, when a wrong survey number or a wrongly tagged entry is often an indexing correction the office can do on its own records.
• Letting a stranger's deed sit unchallenged on your EC for a long time, which can cloud your title and stall a future sale, loan, or mutation.

FAQs

Why does my encumbrance certificate show a transaction I never made?

Usually it is an office indexing mistake, a wrong survey, plot, or door number, a name or extent mismatch, or a deed from a different property being tagged to yours. Sometimes the same transaction appears twice. The way to find out is to get a certified copy of the document behind the entry through an RTI to the Registration department, and compare which property and parties it actually names against your own title documents.

Can I correct a wrong entry on my EC online?

Some state Registration portals let you raise a correction request and track it with a token, but a wrong entry generally cannot be fixed by you online alone. The Sub-Registrar's Office has to verify the entry against its registered records and correct or de-link it. You submit a written correction request with the wrong EC and your title documents, and the office issues a corrected EC after checking. Timelines vary by state, so confirm on your state's portal.

How does RTI help with a wrong transaction on my EC?

The Sub-Registrar's Office is a public authority, so you can ask its Public Information Officer for a certified copy of the document behind the disputed entry, the index or register page where it sits, and the status of your correction request. That copy shows whether the entry is a clerical mix-up the office can fix or a genuine deed of another party. File through your state RTI portal, since registration is a state subject and the central portal does not cover it.

The wrong deed is real and overlaps my property. What now?

Then it is a title or boundary dispute, not just an office error, and RTI alone will not settle it. If both parties agree the description was wrong, they can execute a rectification or correction deed at the Sub-Registrar's Office. If they do not agree, the route is a civil suit for declaration of title or to cancel the document, through a lawyer. The RTI copy and your title chain remain useful evidence either way.

Should I file my RTI on rtionline.gov.in?

Only if you are seeking records from a central public authority. State registration and land records are state subjects, so an RTI about your EC should go through your state's own RTI portal, or by post to the Public Information Officer of the Sub-Registrar's Office or the state Registration department. The central portal at rtionline.gov.in does not accept RTIs for state departments, so filing there will not reach the right office.

A bank or buyer stalled my deal over this entry. Can RTI fix that?

RTI will not direct a private bank, buyer, or builder, because they are not public authorities. What RTI does is get you the certified deed and a dated official answer that the stray entry is being corrected, which is exactly the proof they need. Once the office corrects the record and you have a clean EC, share it with them. If a private party still acts unfairly, use your contract and consumer or banking remedies.

What documents should I keep ready before I approach the office?

Keep the wrong EC with the entry marked, your sale deed and prior title deeds, your state's survey or record-of-rights document such as patta and chitta with the FMB sketch, a property tax receipt, the document number and year of the disputed entry, and your identity proof. Having the correct chain in hand lets the office see at once that the stray entry does not fit your property, and speeds up the correction.

What if the office delays or refuses to correct the entry?

Follow up in writing quoting your token, then escalate within the department to the District Registrar and the Inspector General of Registration for your state. Use your state grievance or CM helpline portal in parallel. On the transparency side, if the PIO does not answer your RTI in time, file a first appeal with the First Appellate Authority. A clear, dated record of what was registered and what the office did strengthens every later step.

Clear next steps

• Download a fresh full-period EC and mark the exact entry that is wrong, noting its document number and year.
• Gather your sale deed, prior deeds, survey or record-of-rights document, and property tax receipt in one folder.
• Submit a written correction request to the issuing Sub-Registrar's Office, using the template here, and keep the token.
• File an RTI with the state Registration department's PIO for the certified deed behind the entry, through your state RTI portal.
• Diarise the office's stated turnaround and the RTI timeline, so you know when to follow up or file a first appeal.