Karnataka HC Sets Aside Fresh-Survey Remand In Land Dispute, Directs Joint Director To Check Sale Deeds Against Survey Sketches First

Petitioner No. 1 claimed ownership of 3 acres in Sy. No. 129/6, while Petitioner No. 2 claimed ownership of land in Sy. No. 129/4; Respondent No. 6 claimed ownership of 3 acres in Sy. No. 129/3.

Respondent No. 6 challenged the phodi, alleging encroachment, and the Assistant Director of Land Records (ADLR) directed a fresh phodi based on the parties’ sale deeds. The Deputy Director of Land Records rejected Respondent No. 6’s appeal, but the Joint Director of Land Records (JDLR) allowed a further appeal and remanded the matter to the ADLR for fresh proceedings.

The petitioners challenged that remand order. The record included survey sketches prepared on 11 December 2024 and 7 July 2025; the High Court noted that the sketches lacked area statements and that the JDLR had not determined whether their dimensions corresponded to the extents in the sale deeds.

The impugned order referred to the JDLR’s authority under Section 50(1)(b)(i) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964.

It held, in the circumstances of this case, that a remand directing a fresh survey should not be made without first examining the existing material and determining whether the survey dimensions and land extents correspond with the parties’ sale deeds; only if a discrepancy is found may a fresh process be directed.

The JDLR had referred to issues concerning the land descriptions, kharab land and the survey sketches, but had not recorded a specific finding on whether the dimensions in the sketches corresponded to the extents claimed under the sale deeds.

Since the existing sketches and phodi materials could be evaluated against the deeds, directing the ADLR to repeat the process without that assessment risked being futile. The High Court therefore required the JDLR to assess the materials and hear the parties before deciding whether any discrepancy warranted a fresh survey.

It directed the JDLR to reconsider the matter by examining the sale deeds, survey sketches and phodi materials, after giving the parties an opportunity to address the correctness of the sketches. If that examination disclosed a variation between the measured dimensions and the extents in the deeds, the JDLR could direct the ADLR to conduct the entire process afresh in accordance with law.