Illegal Khata or Municipal Tax Assessment Made in Someone Else's Name Over Your Property

Who this guide is for

This guide is for any property owner in India who finds that a municipal tax record has been wrongly attached to their property in someone else's name. That includes people who have discovered:

• A khata, khatauni, property identification number (PID), or assessment number opened in another person's name over a plot, house, or flat that they own.
• A property-tax demand or assessment notice showing a name that is not theirs and not their seller's, for their own property.
• A duplicate or parallel assessment running alongside their genuine one, often after a sale, partition, or inheritance.
• An entry that they suspect was created using a forged sale deed, a fabricated agreement, or a cancelled document.

It is especially useful if you are about to sell, mortgage, or apply for a building permission, because a wrong entry in the records can stall those transactions until it is corrected.

Who this guide is NOT for

This guide does not cover a simple correction of your own name, area, or PID on an assessment that is already in your name — for that, see the duplicate-assessment and sale-deed correction routes below. It also does not decide who actually owns the property. If the dispute is really a title dispute — two people both claiming ownership, a pending civil suit, or a contested partition — the municipal record is only a small part of the picture. Title is decided by civil courts on the strength of registered documents, not by the municipal body. In a genuine title contest, fix the record but also take a property lawyer's advice, and see our guide on a wrong mutation while a partition suit is pending.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Gather every title document you have for the property in one folder. Pull out your registered sale deed, gift deed, partition deed, or the will and succession papers through which you own it. Add the latest property-tax receipts in your name, the encumbrance certificate, and any earlier khata or assessment extract. Then write down what exactly you found: the disputed khata or assessment number, the name shown on it, the date you noticed it, and where you saw it — the municipal portal, a tax receipt, a notice, or an EC search. This single page of facts will anchor your objection.

Saturday

Get certified copies. Visit or use the online portal of your municipal corporation, municipality, or panchayat and apply for a certified copy of the disputed khata or assessment and its property card or extract. Also obtain a fresh extract of your own assessment, if any, and a current encumbrance certificate from the sub-registrar covering the property. Certified copies matter because your objection is far stronger when you can point to the official record itself, not a screenshot. Note the application numbers and the date so you can follow up.

Sunday

Draft your written objection using the template further below, and draft a separate RTI application for the creation file. Keep the objection factual: state your ownership, identify the disputed entry by number, and ask for it to be kept in abeyance and corrected. Organise your documents folder so that the sale deed, EC, mutation, and tax receipts are scanned and named clearly by date. By Monday or Tuesday you can hand in the objection at the assessment office, get it stamped, and post or upload the RTI. If you suspect forged documents were used, also prepare the facts for a police complaint.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Confirm what the disputed entry actually is

Before reacting, identify the record precisely. Note the khata, PID, or assessment number, the name on it, the property description, and the survey or door number. Then match it against your own title. Sometimes what looks like a fraud is a clerical mix-up — a new assessment wrongly tagged to your survey number, or an old entry that should have been cancelled after a sale. The remedy is the same correction process, but knowing whether it is error or fraud tells you whether to add a police complaint. Remember throughout: a khata is a tax record, not a title.

Step 2 — Get certified copies of the disputed entry and your title

Apply for a certified copy of the disputed khata or assessment and its property card from the municipal body. Apply for a fresh encumbrance certificate from the sub-registrar so the registered chain of ownership is on record. Keep your sale deed, mutation, and tax receipts ready. Certified copies turn your complaint from an allegation into a documented objection that an officer must act on.

Step 3 — File a written objection with the municipal assessment office

Submit a signed, dated written objection to the municipal revenue or assessment office (often the Revenue Officer, Assistant Revenue Officer, or assessment section, depending on your state and city). State your ownership, identify the disputed entry by number, and explain that it was created in someone else's name over your property. Ask them to keep the disputed entry in abeyance pending verification, to cancel or correct it, and to cancel any tax demand raised under it. Attach your title documents. Get a stamped acknowledgement or an online receipt. See the copy-paste template further below.

Step 4 — File a police complaint if forged documents were used

If the entry was created using a forged sale deed, a fabricated power of attorney, impersonation, or a cancelled document, this is a criminal matter that the municipal body cannot resolve on its own. File a written police complaint setting out the facts, the disputed entry, and the documents you believe were forged. Forgery and cheating relating to property are serious offences. Keep the acknowledgement or a copy of the FIR. The police complaint and the municipal objection can proceed in parallel, and each strengthens the other.

Step 5 — File an RTI for the creation file

File an RTI application with the municipal body's Public Information Officer asking for a certified copy of the entire creation file of the disputed khata or assessment. This is the most powerful step. The file shows which documents were submitted, who applied, the noting sheet, and the officer who approved the entry. If forged documents were used, the file usually contains them. Read our guide on how to file an RTI online in India for the step-by-step process and the prescribed fee, which varies by state.

Step 6 — Escalate or appeal if the office does not act

If the assessment office does not respond within a reasonable time, escalate in writing to the Commissioner or the next senior revenue authority of the municipal body, attaching your earlier objection and acknowledgement. If the RTI is not answered within the time limit, file a first appeal — see how to file a first appeal under RTI. Many states also allow a statutory appeal against an assessment order; the route and time limit vary by state, so confirm the current position on the municipal portal or with a lawyer.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste objection template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details before sending. Adjust the office name to match your city or state.

When RTI can help

The RTI Act, 2005 applies to public authorities. A municipal corporation, municipality, town panchayat, or gram panchayat that maintains property-tax assessments and khata records is a public authority. This means you can file an RTI application directly with that body's Public Information Officer to:

• Obtain a certified copy of the entire creation file of the disputed khata or assessment, including the noting sheet and order sheet.
• Find out the exact documents — sale deed, agreement, application, identity proof — on which the entry was created.
• Learn the name and designation of the officer who received the application and the officer who approved the entry, and the dates.
• Confirm whether any notice was issued to you before the entry was made, and obtain copies of any inspection or field verification report.
• Obtain a copy of any tax demand raised under the entry and the basis on which it was computed.

This is one of the strongest uses of RTI for property records, because the creation file lays bare how a wrong or fraudulent entry was made. The certified documents you receive can be used in your municipal objection, in a police complaint for forgery, and in any later civil proceeding. Read our full guide on how to file an RTI online, and see how to file a first appeal if the PIO does not respond in time. Our guide to CPGRAMS and RTI for government service complaints also explains how to combine a grievance with an RTI.

When RTI will not help

RTI does not decide ownership. An RTI to the municipal body will tell you how the entry was made, but it cannot declare who owns the property and it cannot cancel a deed. Title is decided by civil courts on the strength of registered documents. If the real dispute is a contest over ownership, RTI is only a fact-finding tool — the substantive remedy is the municipal correction, and if needed, a civil suit.

RTI does not reach purely private records. If a private builder, society, broker, or the other private individual holds documents you want, RTI does not apply to them. Use your title documents, the encumbrance certificate from the sub-registrar, and the municipal creation file instead. For a builder or RERA-related dispute, see our guide on enforcing a RERA order when the builder does not comply.

RTI does not compel an outcome. RTI gives you information; it does not order the municipal body to cancel the entry. The cancellation comes from your objection, the assessment authority, or the court. But the information you obtain — especially proof that the entry rests on a forged or non-existent document — is often what forces a quick correction.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating the khata as proof that you have lost ownership. A khata or tax assessment is a billing record, not a title. The wrong entry does not transfer your property. Stay calm, correct the record, and protect your registered title.
• Only complaining verbally or by phone. A verbal complaint leaves no trail. Always file a written, dated objection and get a stamped acknowledgement or an online receipt. The acknowledgement date can matter for any later appeal.
• Ignoring the forgery angle. If the entry was created on a forged deed or by impersonation, a municipal correction alone is not enough. File a police complaint so the fraud is investigated and cannot be repeated elsewhere in the records.
• Not obtaining certified copies first. Acting on a screenshot weakens your case. Get certified copies of the disputed entry and a fresh encumbrance certificate so your objection rests on official documents.
• Forgetting to ask for the tax demand to be cancelled. If a demand or arrears were raised under the wrong entry, say so by number and date in your objection, and ask in writing for it to be withdrawn so no recovery proceeds on a void entry.
• Skipping the RTI for the creation file. The creation file is your best evidence of how the wrong entry was made. Filing the RTI early, in parallel with the objection, often surfaces the forged document or the careless approval that caused the problem.
• Handling a genuine title contest without a lawyer. If two people both claim ownership, a suit is pending, or the other side has built or sold on the basis of the entry, the stakes are high. Get a property lawyer's advice early rather than relying on the municipal record alone.