Satbara Utara (7/12) in English: how to read and translate it

The 7/12 extract (सातबारा उतारा, satbara utara) is the Maharashtra land record that combines Village Form 7, the record of rights, and Village Form 12, the crop register, for one survey or gat number, in Marathi. Translate column by column, keep names and numbers traceable to the original, and use a formal translation where a bank or court requires one.

What is a 7/12 extract?

“7/12” means “seven-twelve”: two village forms printed together. Village Form 7 (गाव नमुना सात) is the record of rights (अधिकार अभिलेख, adhikar abhilekh). Village Form 12 (गाव नमुना बारा) is the crop register (पिकांची नोंदवही, pikanchi nondvahi). (Maharashtra GR dated 2 September 2020 (revised Village Form 7); Maharashtra circular dated 23 November 2020 (digitally signed land records))

Both forms are prescribed under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Record of Rights and Registers (Preparation and Maintenance) Rules, 1971. The Form 7 annexed to the order of 2 September 2020 cites rules 3, 5, 6 and 7. Its Form 12 cites rule 29. The order of 25 November 2022 revises Form 12 for crop information recorded through the e-Peek Pahani app. (Maharashtra GR dated 2 September 2020 (revised Village Form 7); Maharashtra GR dated 25 November 2022 (revised Village Form 12))

According to the State, Form 7 records the occupant’s name, the local name of the field, the survey number, the tenure, the area (cultivable, uncultivable and total), the assessment, the khata number, the tenant’s name and other rights. (Maharashtra GR dated 2 September 2020 (revised Village Form 7))

A 7/12 is a revenue record, not a title deed. Under section 157 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966, an entry in the record of rights and a certified entry in the mutation register are presumed true until the contrary is proved or a new entry is lawfully substituted. That rebuttable presumption does not make mutation a source of title. The Supreme Court reiterated in Tarachandra v Bhawarlal, 2025 INSC 1485, that mutation does not confer any right, title or interest and is only for fiscal purposes. A title examination must also consider the underlying deeds, orders and mutation history. (Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966, section 157; Tarachandra v Bhawarlal, 2025 INSC 1485, paragraph 19)

What do the 7/12 columns mean in English?

Use the printed Marathi label and the corresponding entry together. The English renderings below preserve the revenue terminology. Do not expand them into conclusions about ownership, transferability or absence of encumbrances.

Labels are as printed on Form 7 in the order of 2 September 2020, on Form 8A in the order of 18 April 2018 and on Mahabhulekh. (Maharashtra GR dated 2 September 2020 (revised Village Form 7); Maharashtra GR dated 18 April 2018 (revised Village Form 8A); Mahabhulekh)

The prescribed Form 7 uses भोगवटादार, rendered here as occupant. Preserve any different expression on an older record. Do not replace it with the modern label.

How do you read the newer 7/12 format?

The September 2020 order changed the layout of Form 7. Here is what that means for a reader: (Maharashtra GR dated 2 September 2020 (revised Village Form 7))

• The village name appears with its LGD code.

• Area is shown as (a) cultivable plus (b) pot-kharab, followed by the total. The unit is stated: hectare, are, square metre for agricultural land, and are, square metre for non-agricultural land.

• The khata number sits next to the holder’s name. It is no longer printed in the other rights column.

• Some names and entries are bracketed and struck through: holders who have died, holders who sold their whole area, and discharged loans or e-agreement entries. Older extracts used brackets alone.

• Pending mutations, meaning mutations recorded but not yet disposed of, appear in a separate box below other rights. If there are none, the box says so.

• The last mutation number and date appear below other rights. Old mutation numbers are grouped at the foot.

• Non-agricultural land has its own Form 7, without the pot-kharab, judi, special assessment, tenant and rent columns. Form 12 need not be filled in for such land.

Read an area figure with its printed unit. Where the unit is hectare.are.square metre, 1.20.50 denotes 1 hectare, 20 ares and 50 square metres, or 12,050 square metres. One hectare equals 100 ares and one are equals 100 square metres. Do not apply that notation to a record that uses a different unit or decimal convention.

How do you download a 7/12 or 8A extract online?

Mahabhulekh lets you view records. Select the record type (7/12, 8A, property card or K-Prat) and the available district, taluka, village and search fields. The portal is in Marathi and says that third-party transliteration tools are not expected to be used for English. Its notice also states that the information displayed there cannot be used for government or legal purposes. (Mahabhulekh)

For an officially verifiable copy, use the Digitally signed Satbara portal. It states that digitally signed 7/12, 8A and property card extracts can be used for all official and legal purposes. A November 2020 State circular says that extracts from this site carrying a QR code and a 16-digit verification number are valid for all legal and government work, and need no talathi’s signature. (Digitally signed Satbara; Maharashtra circular dated 23 November 2020 (digitally signed land records))

For chargeable downloads, use the fee and payment instructions shown in the official portal’s transaction flow. Use only the official Mahabhumi links for Maharashtra records, and verify the complete hostname before entering details or making payment.

How is the 8A extract different from the 7/12?

A 7/12 covers one parcel. The 8A (गाव नमुना आठ-अ) is the register of holdings (धारण जमिनींची नोंदवही), kept holder by holder (आसामीवार खतावणी, जमाबंदी पत्रक). (Maharashtra GR dated 18 April 2018 (revised Village Form 8A))

The revised 8A shows the khata number and holder’s name, and parcel-wise information including the Form 6 entry number, survey number and sub-division, area, assessment, judi and local cesses. The order of 18 April 2018 adds cultivable, pot-kharab and total area sub-columns and directs that, in that revised form, only cultivable area is assessable. Pot-kharab area is not. (Maharashtra GR dated 18 April 2018 (revised Village Form 8A))

A 7/12 identifies the recorded occupant and other parcel information for revenue purposes. An 8A groups parcels under a khata. The 2020 circular on digitally signed records also covers Village Form 6 mutation extracts. (Maharashtra circular dated 23 November 2020 (digitally signed land records))

What about Gujarat’s 7/12 and 8A?

Gujarat also uses 7/12 and 8A terminology. The Industries Commissionerate’s checklist refers to “7/12 of Survey No. & 8A Khata Details”. Use the Gujarat Revenue Department’s official AnyROR portal and its rural, urban or digitally signed record options as appropriate. Gujarat’s forms are separate from Maharashtra’s. Do not reuse a Marathi glossary for a Gujarati extract. Avoid lookalike “AnyROR” sites. (Industries Commissionerate, Gujarat, Checklist for Approval; AnyROR, Revenue Department, Government of Gujarat)

When do you need an English translation, and what kind?

• Supreme Court and High Courts. The Supreme Court requires an English translation through an Order VIII route unless an exemption is granted. High Court requirements depend on the side and proceeding. A Marathi extract in a Bombay Appellate Side writ may fall within the Marathi-undertaking proviso. A non-English exhibit to an Original Side plaint ordinarily requires an official translation under rule 42(2). See translation requirements in Indian courts, exemption from filing official translation and Bombay High Court and Marathi documents. (Constitution of India, Article 348; Supreme Court Rules, 2013, Order VIII rule 2; Bombay High Court Appellate Side Rules, Chapter XVII; Bombay High Court Original Side Rules, Chapter IV)

• Courts outside Maharashtra. Establish the receiving court’s documentary and translation requirements before preparing the filing.

• Banks and lenders. A lender or legal team outside Maharashtra may want an English version for a title report. Ask them what form they need.

• NRI buyers. A working translation helps the buyer understand the record. A filing abroad needs whatever the foreign authority accepts.

A working translation is for reading, due diligence and drafting. A formal translation is made by a court or official translator, or carries a translator’s certificate, as the authority requires. See certified, official or machine translation.

The source extract’s digital signature authenticates that extract. Reproducing its QR code, verification number or signature image on an English translation does not make the translation digitally signed by the revenue authority. Preserve the original signed electronic file and follow the receiving court’s rules on what is annexed. Bombay Original Side rule 42(2), for example, prescribes the official translation, not the non-English exhibit, as the plaint annexure. (Maharashtra circular dated 23 November 2020 (digitally signed land records); Bombay High Court Original Side Rules, Chapter IV)

What goes wrong when translating a 7/12?

• Names. Transliterate names. Do not translate them. Give the Devanagari in brackets on first use. Compare spellings with the client’s ID documents, but do not “correct” the extract. A struck-through name marks an entry the revenue form treats as no longer current. It does not by itself settle title. (Maharashtra GR dated 2 September 2020 (revised Village Form 7))

• Units. Keep the printed unit. Add a conversion in brackets if it helps, without rounding.

• Survey numbers. Copy each digit of Devanagari numerals carefully (१२ is 12). Keep slashes and letter suffixes, and say how you rendered a suffix such as अ. Survey and gat numbers are different series, so never swap one for the other.

• Mutations. “Pending” means recorded but not yet disposed of. Do not translate it as “approved”. (Maharashtra GR dated 2 September 2020 (revised Village Form 7))

• Other rights. Translate exactly what is printed. A blank box is a blank box, not “no encumbrance”.

• Machine tools. General tools can translate names and misread numerals. See Google Translate for legal documents.

Where NyayTranslate fits

NyayTranslate can provide a machine draft of a 7/12 for reading and review. It is not a certified or official translation. Its website offers a free preview of the first two pages and describes processing of scans subject to legibility. Check the Marathi labels, tenure category, names, every figure, mutation references and marginal entries against the original. Obtain the form of translation the receiving court or lender requires. (NyayTranslate website and FAQs)

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change; check the current rules and practice directions of your court.