Sada bainama (unregistered land sale) regularisation in Telangana: who qualifies under Bhu Bharati Act 2025 section 6

Official pages read on 23 Oct 2026 · Not legal advice · Government websites change, so re-check before you rely on a step.

Short answer: a sada bainama is a land sale written on plain paper and never registered. Section 6 of the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025 lets the Government order regularisation of such sales, but only for a narrow group: a small or marginal farmer who got agricultural land through an unregistered transfer made before 02-06-2014, with possession for more than twelve years, who had applied between 12-10-2020 and 10-11-2020. If you are buying land today, a new sada bainama is not a safe way to buy: section 5 of the same Act routes every sale of agricultural land through a registered document and a booked slot.

Is your sada bainama covered by section 6? Five tests from the Act

Test	What the Act says (quoted)	If you fail it
1. Who you are	"small or marginal farmer", defined in s.2(26) as "a farmer having less than 2 1/2 Acres of Wet land or 5 Acres of dry land" ("1 Acre of wet land is equal to 2 Acres of dry land").	Section 6 does not name you. Ask a lawyer about other routes.
2. What land	"Agricultural land".	Non-agricultural or abadi land is not in s.6; s.5(9) sends its sales to the Sub-Registrar.
3. When the sale happened	"otherwise than by a registered document before 02-06-2014, evidencing possession for more than twelve years".	A plain-paper sale from 2 June 2014 onwards is outside the text.
4. When you applied	"an application is submitted ... from 12-10-2020 to 10-11-2020".	No application in that window: the section, as printed, does not cover you.
5. Land not barred	RDO checks the transfer is not against the Land Ceiling Act 1973, the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act 1976, the Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation 1959 or the Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act 1977. S.6(3): nothing in s.6 validates such a transfer.	Ceiling-surplus, assigned, scheduled-area or ULC land cannot be regularised under s.6.

If you pass all five: the Government "may order, by notification, the processing" of these applications. After that, the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) holds an enquiry and, "upon payment of such stamp duty and registration fees, as may be prescribed", issues a certificate that the transfer "is valid from the date of issue of certificate". That certificate is listed in s.2(12)(o) as a basis for mutation.

If the RDO rejects it: s.15(2) gives an appeal to the District Collector within sixty days of the order; s.15(5) gives a second appeal to the Land Tribunal within thirty days.

Source: Act No. 1 of 2025, Telangana Gazette Part IV-B, 4 Jan 2025 (listed on Bhu Bharati Documents), sections 2, 5, 6 and 15, read on 23 Oct 2026. To verify: the Bhu Bharati Rules 2025 text on these claims, the stamp duty and fee amounts, and whether a notification under s.6(1) has been issued for your district. A Government order of March 2026 on processing these claims for small farmers is summarised on a non-government orders site; we have not read it on a government page.

Buying land where the seller's own title is a sada bainama: seven checks

Ask how the seller got the land: registered sale deed, inheritance, or plain paper. If it is plain paper, ask whether an s.6 certificate was issued.
Look up the survey number on Bhu Bharati Land Details Search. Under s.11 every Record of Rights entry is "presumed to be true and correct until the contrary is proved", so the seller's name should be on it before you pay.
If the seller's name is missing, the sale cannot run through the Bhu Bharati slot: s.5(4) registers only where "the pattadar and property particulars in the document are in consonance with the entries in the Record of Rights". Wait until the record is fixed.
Check the five tests above against the seller's papers. A promise that "regularisation will come" is not a certificate.
Check the land type for assigned, ceiling-surplus or prohibited status (see the prohibited property guide below). S.6(3) does not save those transfers.
Buy only by a registered sale deed through slot booking (s.5(1)). From a date the Government will prescribe, a survey or sub-division map must go with it (s.5(3)).
After registration, check that the Tahsildar has moved the land to your account (s.5(5)) and download your e-passbook.

Common mistake: paying in full for land bought on plain paper "like everyone in the village does". Under s.6 the cut-off date was 02-06-2014 and the application window closed on 10-11-2020. A new plain-paper sale has no regularisation route in this Act.

Already in possession but not in the record? Section 4(6) lets a person "in lawful possession" whose land has no entry apply for a new entry "within the prescribed period". The period and form are to verify. The Bhu Bharati FAQ also covers a registered purchase made before Bhu Bharati but never mutated: use "Apply for Mutation" in citizen login.

Related guides

Buying in Andhra Pradesh? See the Andhra Pradesh unregistered-sale guide.

Not legal advice. This page summarises official pages read on 23 Oct 2026. Whether a particular unregistered sale can be fixed depends on its facts; a lawyer must check the title chain before you pay. Portals and rules change, so re-check each step.

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FAQ

What is a sada bainama?

A sale of land written on plain paper and not registered. Section 6 of the Telangana Bhu Bharati Act 2025 calls it an alienation or transfer made otherwise than by a registered document.

Can a sada bainama be regularised in Telangana now?

Only within section 6: a small or marginal farmer, agricultural land, an unregistered transfer before 02-06-2014 with more than twelve years' possession, and an application made between 12-10-2020 and 10-11-2020. Processing starts only when the Government orders it by notification.

What does the regularisation certificate do?

The RDO issues a certificate that the transfer is valid from the date of issue, after payment of the prescribed stamp duty and registration fees. The Act lists it as a basis for mutation.

Can I buy land on a sada bainama today?

Section 5 requires sales of agricultural land to be done by a registered document through a booked slot. A new plain-paper sale falls outside section 6's dates.

Official sources

Not legal advice. We don't check properties or certify ads. A lawyer must confirm title, and the Authority's own notices override anything on this page.