How to Spot a Forged Land Deed and Run a Deed Search (Tallashi) in Bangladesh

In this guide: Red flags: how to recognise a forged deed · How to do a deed search (dolil tallashi) · Getting a certified copy (nokol) of a deed · Matching the deed with khatian, namjari, DCR and khajna · Found a forged deed? What to do next

The short answer

To check whether a deed is genuine, do a deed search (dolil tallashi) at the Sub-Registry office where it was registered, or at the District Registrar’s record room for older volumes. Under section 57 of the Registration Act 1908, anyone may inspect the registration volume (Book 1) and its indexes and obtain a certified copy on payment of fees. Compare that copy line by line with the deed you were shown, then match the seller against the khatian, namjari, DCR and khajna receipts. If the deed is not in the volume, or the details differ, treat it as suspect and take legal advice before paying anything.

Red flags: how to recognise a forged deed

No single sign proves forgery, but each of these should make you stop and check:

• Not in the registry: the deed number, year or volume does not match the registry’s record, or the entry there names different people or land.
• Broken chain: the seller, or the person he claims through, does not appear in the CS, SA, RS or BS khatian or in an earlier deed.
• Missing parts in a recent sale deed: sale deeds registered under the current rules should carry the latest khatian details, a map with boundaries, a short ownership history for the previous 25 years and the seller’s affidavit of no earlier transfer.
• Stamp and endorsement problems: stamp paper sold after the deed date, missing registration endorsements or certificate, or seals that look different from other deeds of the same office and year.
• Physical signs: overwriting, different ink, replaced or renumbered pages, smudged thumb impressions, signatures that differ from the owner’s known signatures.
• Story problems: the seller was abroad, ill or dead on the date; the original is “lost” and only a photocopy exists; an old deed has suddenly “turned up”.
• Deal pressure: a price far below market, urgency, cash only, or sale through a power of attorney whose principal you cannot reach.

A namjari or khajna receipt does not cure a forged deed. Mutation can be obtained on a fake deed, so check the deed itself.

How to do a deed search (dolil tallashi)

1. Collect the details: deed number and year, the Sub-Registry office, names of seller and buyer with fathers’ names, and the mouza and dag numbers.
2. Find where the volume is: recent volumes are kept at the Sub-Registry office. Older volumes are usually in the District Registrar’s record room at the district headquarters. Ask the office which applies.
3. Apply to search: submit the prescribed search application with the search fee. If you know the deed number, the volume (balam) and page can be traced directly.
4. If you do not know the number: the indexes help. Index I lists the names of executants and claimants; Index II lists property particulars such as mouza. A search by name and mouza takes longer.
5. Record what you find: deed number, date, parties, land described, and any later deeds over the same dag.

Fees and forms are set by the registration rules and the government fee schedule, and the office citizen charter usually lists them. Pay only at the counter against an official receipt. Many people use a lawyer or a licensed deed writer for this; if you do, ask for the receipt and the certified copy, not just a verbal “it is fine”. For the wider pre-purchase checklist, see what to check before you buy land.

Getting a certified copy (nokol) of a deed

A certified copy is the registry’s own copy of the entry in its volume, certified by the registering officer. Section 57 of the Registration Act allows any person to obtain a certified copy of entries in Book 1 (deeds of land), so you do not need the seller’s permission.

• Apply at the office holding the volume, with the deed number, year and parties’ names.
• Pay the copying fees, which depend on the length of the deed.
• Collect on the given date; simple cases take days, old or damaged volumes longer.

Online deed search: as of this guide, there is no general official service in Bangladesh to search or download registered deeds online. A 2026 amendment to the Registration Act allows e-registration, but the rules were still pending when it was announced. Be careful with websites or brokers offering “online deed copies”. Land records are different: khatian (porcha), namjari and DCR can be checked through the land.gov.bd services, and khajna through ldtax.gov.bd.

Certified copies are also what courts rely on, so if a case may follow, keep the original certified copy safe and work from photocopies.

Matching the deed with khatian, namjari, DCR and khajna

A genuine deed sits inside a consistent paper trail. Check that:

• Khatian: the seller, or the person he inherited or bought from, is recorded in the relevant khatian for the same mouza and dag, and the area sold does not exceed his share.
• Chain of deeds: each earlier transfer back to the recorded owner can be traced, ideally by certified copies.
• Namjari and DCR: the mutation case number and DCR are in the seller’s name for this land, and the online record matches the paper.
• Khajna: land development tax is paid in the seller’s holding, with no sudden lump payment of many years made just before sale.
• Ground reality: who is actually in possession, and do neighbours confirm the seller’s ownership?

Signatures and thumb impressions: if you suspect the signature or thumb impression is not the owner’s, an expert comparison can be done. In a court case, the court can compare signatures itself or send the deed and the registry’s thumb-impression record for expert examination, for example to the CID forensic laboratory. Expert opinion is evidence, not proof on its own, so it is weighed with everything else.

Found a forged deed? What to do next

1. Stop the deal and do not pay more money. Keep every document, message and receipt.
2. Criminal case: forging a land document is an offence under section 5 of the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act 2023, punishable with up to 7 years and a fine, and non-bailable. Selling land you do not own is land fraud under section 4. Penal Code forgery offences may also apply. You can lodge an FIR or a complaint case; see GD, FIR or complaint case.
3. Civil suit: only a civil court can declare the deed void or cancel it and protect your title. For a voidable deed the usual time limit is 3 years from when you learnt the facts, so do not wait for the criminal case to end.
4. Land office: if a mutation has been made or applied for on the fake deed, file an objection or application with the AC (Land) and pursue the remedy against that order.
5. Registry: you can inform the Sub-Registrar in writing and ask that the matter be noted, but the registry cannot itself cancel a registered deed.

If you are the true owner and someone is using a forged deed to claim your land, also guard your possession. Our guide on recovering illegally occupied land explains the possession remedies.