Supreme Court: Government Cannot Reopen Land Revenue Orders After Statutory Three-Year Limit

Introduction

The Supreme Court has held that revenue authorities cannot exercise their revisional jurisdiction indefinitely and reopen settled land records after the expiry of the statutory limitation period.  The Supreme Court observed that section 5 of the Limitation Act is not applicable to Karnatka Land Revenue Act, 1964.

In M.R.R. Setty (Dead) by LRs v. Government of Karnataka & Ors., 2026 INSC 944, a Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva examined the scope of revisional power under Section 56 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964. The dispute concerned land records relating to property in Bengaluru. The revenue authorities had sought to reopen an earlier survey determination decades after the original proceedings.

Three-Year Limitation

Section 56 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act contains a specific limitation on the exercise of revisional power. The Supreme Court held that the statutory framework does not permit the authorities to invoke that power after the prescribed period merely because a later complaint raises questions concerning the correctness of an old revenue entry. The Court therefore set aside the government’s attempt to reopen the matter. The Hon’ble Supreme Court stated:

“We are at a loss to understand as to how this provision[for delay condonation as per S.5 Limitation Act] aids the case of the Government. It has no application in the present scenario, as we are not dealing with appeals under the [Limitation ]Act of 1964, but with exercise of revisional power under Section 56 thereof…Once the proviso to Section 56(3) stipulated in categorical terms that the power of revision under Section 56(1) could be exercised in respect of an order, against which no appeal has been preferred, at any time within three years from the date of such order, the provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963, cannot be smuggled in to negate and defeat the limitation prescribed in the afore stated proviso.”

Government Power Is Not Unlimited

The judgment is important because revenue authorities frequently exercise powers affecting title, possession and land records. Such powers must nevertheless be exercised within the limits prescribed by law. The fact that an authority possesses revisional jurisdiction does not mean that the jurisdiction can be exercised at any time. The Supreme Court also emphasised the broader principle that statutory powers affecting settled rights must ordinarily be exercised within the period prescribed by law or, where no specific period exists, within a reasonable time.

“In the light of the clear embargo on exercise of such revisionary power in relation to an order, which was not appealed against, beyond the period of three years from the date of such order, the very invocation of such power by the Joint Director/Registrar of Land Records was without any mooring in the statute. The exercise being vitiated in its very inception, the Division Bench was not justified in opining that, as no adverse order had been passed yet, the learned Judge ought not to have interfered. Requiring M.R.R. Setty or his successors-in-interest to participate in such an enquiry, based on invocation of power well beyond the prescribed limitation, cannot be sustained and the learned Judge was, therefore, fully justified in interfering with the notice and in allowing the writ petitions. The Division Bench erred in holding to the contrary and the same was compounded by the other Bench by rejecting the review petition.”

Protection of Property Rights

Land records may remain undisturbed for decades, during which time people may purchase property, construct buildings and create third-party rights. Allowing authorities to reopen such records without regard to statutory limitation would create serious uncertainty. The judgment therefore protects not merely procedural finality but also the stability of property transactions.

Conclusion

The decision reinforces a basic administrative-law principle: A statutory power must be exercised within the limits prescribed by the statute. Revenue authorities cannot use revisional jurisdiction as an unrestricted power to reopen settled land disputes.

Case: M.R.R. Setty (Dead) by LRs v. Government of Karnataka & Ors., 2026 INSC 944.

FAQs

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