Partition of Agriculture Land in India 

By Manvir Kaur February 17, 2026 0 Comments

5 Things NRIs Don’t Know About Dividing Joint Family Land in Punjab, India 

The process of partition of agricultural land is governed by the Punjab Land Revenue Act of 1887. Since land is a serious matter, specialized officials called Assistant Collectors (like your local Tehsildar or Naib-Tehsildar) handle the cases.There are generally two paths a family can take:

1. The Friendly Way (Mutual Settlement)

If all the shareholders are in agreement over the share of land they are getting, they can write up a Partition Deed which should be signed by every shareholder. Lastly, the partition deed must be submitted to the Tehsildar/FRO in the district. This is the fastest and easiest method of partition of joint property.

2. The Legal Way (via the Revenue Court also known as Contested Partition)

In the cases where the shareholders cannot reach a mutual agreement to divide the land and  any one of the shareholders can file the partition suit at the local Revenue Court. This is called a contested partition. Any shareholder whose name is reflected in the latest Jamabandi (the official land record) can file a partition suit. 

Step-by-Step Procedure for the partition of land 

A step by step guide for NRIs about the whole process of partition of joint property:

  1. Application & Notice:  A notice is sent to all shareholders to inform them that a partition suit has been filed to divide their Joint property. The district revenue authority sends the notice on the current address of the shareholders by post, phone, massage and emails. In case a dispute is there the revenue authorities issues the notice in the newspapers and announce it publicly. 
  2. Checking Ownership: The revenue court confirms everyone’s share. In case of a dispute of ownership of the property i.e dispute over who actually owns the land, the revenue authorities may stop the partition process and can send it to a Civil Court to decide the title of ownership first.
  3. Naksha A (The Draft Map): Revenue officials called the Patwari and Kanungo prepare a draft map showing the land’s current state and ground realities before the partition of land.  
  4. Naksha B (The Proposed Plan): The revenue officials propose a new map of the land reflecting the share of all shareholders with clear boundaries. Shareholders can file objections if they think the plan is unfair to them or any of them.