Assam: SOP issued to check inter-religion fraudulent transfer of land ownership

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: In a bid to check fraudulent means of land transfer from members of one religion to another in the state, the Assam government has come out with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). In this regard, the Revenue and Disaster Management Department issued an official notification recently.

With the adoption of this new SOP, it is expected that the process of land transfer from members of one religion to another will become more stringent, and a report from the Special Branch of Assam Police has become mandatory.

According to the recent notification, the government has noticed that several cases of attempts to transfer land by fraudulent means are happening in some places of the state, where land belonging to some religious communities is forcibly being transferred to people of other religious communities by some vested interest groups to create conflict on communal lines.

The State Government, vide a notification dated March 7, 2024, had kept in abeyance the grant of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the sale of land under Section 21A of the Registration Act, 1908, for all cases where the buyer and seller belong to different religions, for a period of three months from the date of issuance of the said notification. The Finance Minister, vide Budget Announcement 2025-26, had stated, "Given the sensitivities involved in land transfer matters in the state, all cases of inter-religion land transfers between individuals will be given effect after due approval of the State Government."

Moreover, in pursuance of the notification dated March 7, 2024, the Joint Secretary (Registration)/Additional Director of Land Records was appointed as Nodal Officer for Inter-Religion Transfer, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, and proposals of District Commissioners have been forwarded to the Nodal Officer.

However, the proposals forwarded by District Commissioners for inter-religion land transfer could not be processed further due to the lack of a clear-cut Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

Therefore, the state government has now notified the following SOP for the grant of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the District Commissioner for Registration of Transfer of Land (land sale, lease, gift, etc.) under Section 21A of the Registration Act, 1908, in cases where the buyers and sellers belong to different religious communities, as outlined below:

1. An application for grant of NOC for transfer of land shall be made by the applicant through the SEWA SETU portal to the office of the District Commissioner under whose jurisdiction the land is situated, with details on the reasons for sale and the value of the transaction.

2. The District Commissioner shall collect a report from the concerned Circle Officer on the veracity of the details submitted by the applicant.

3. The District Commissioner, upon receipt of the report from the Circle Officer, shall forward the application to the Nodal Officer, Inter Religion Land Sale Permission, Revenue & D.M. Department for examination of the comprehensive report.

4. The Nodal Officer, Inter Religion Land Sale Permission, Revenue & D.M. Department will further seek a report from Special Branch (SB), Assam Police HQ, on the following points: a. Whether such transfer of land could be under undue threat, coercion or fraudulent means; b. Whether such transfer of land has the propensity to disturb peace and communal harmony in the area of proposed Land Transfer; c. Whether such land transfer could pose a threat to national security; and d. Character & Antecedent report of buyer and seller.

5. Upon receipt of the report from Special Branch, the Nodal Officer, Inter Religion Land Sale permission, Revenue & D.M. Department shall forward the same to the District Commissioner concerned.

6. Subsequent to the receipt of the report of the Special Branch from the Nodal Officer, Inter Religion Land Sale permission, the Revenue & D.M. Department, District Commissioner will take a decision to either call for further queries from the applicants, reject the proposal or issue NOC for such land transfer.

7. In the event that an application is not disposed of within 30 days from the date of application, the District Commissioner will issue a speaking order with reasons thereof to the applicant within the said stipulated period as per the provisions of Section 21A of the Registration Act, 1908.

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