In short
- The occupant's name must match the seller exactly.
- The "other rights" column shows loans, cases and tenancies.
- Pull a fresh copy yourself from Mahabhulekh; the seller's copy may be old.
The 7/12 extract (satbara utara) is the land record kept by the village talathi. It joins two forms: Form 7 records who holds the land and on what terms, and Form 12 records what is grown on it. For a buyer it answers three questions: who owns this, how big is it, and is anything attached to it.
Where to get it
The state's land records portal, Mahabhulekh (bhulekh.mahabhumi.gov.in), shows the 7/12 for a survey number: choose the district, taluka and village, then search. For a copy you can use in official and legal work, the Digital Satbara portal (digitalsatbara.mahabhumi.gov.in) issues digitally signed 7/12, 8A and property card copies; the portal tells you whether a fee applies. Pull the copy yourself before the visit, not after.
Read these parts first
Occupant's name. It must match the seller exactly. A relative's name, a deceased owner's name, or a company's name when a person is selling all need more papers to explain.
Area. The legal size of the survey number. Compare it with what you are being told; the guntha guide has the conversion.
Other rights. Loans, court cases, tenancies and government notices appear here. A bank's name means a mortgage that has to be cleared before the sale is registered.
Mutation entries. The ferfar numbers show how ownership changed hands over the years. Ask for copies of the recent ones; a gap or a pending entry needs explaining.
Check these before you pay anything
Tick: the village, taluka and survey number are the ones on the plot you saw. Tick: the occupant's name is the seller's name, letter for letter. Tick: the area matches the area in the agreement. Tick: "other rights" is empty, or every entry is explained in writing. Tick: you downloaded the copy yourself. Tick: no recent mutation entry is waiting to be approved.
Red flags
The seller shows only a photo or an old printout. Several holders are named but only one is selling. "Other rights" names a bank, a court or a tenant. The area on paper is smaller than the area you were shown. The seller cannot explain how the name on the 7/12 came to be there. Any one of these is a reason to stop and ask a lawyer.
Next step: pull the 7/12 yourself before the visit. After that, the 8A extract shows everything one holder owns in a village, and a title search traces the chain of ownership behind the 7/12.
Sources
General information for Maharashtra, written for buyers in Ahilyanagar. Not legal or financial advice; rules change, so check with the source or a professional before you act.