Herohalli Revenue Officer Suspended for Issuing 76 Illegal Property Khatas

An assistant revenue officer attached to the Bengaluru West City Corporation has been suspended for allegedly issuing illegal "A-Khatas" for 76 properties in the Herohalli sub-division of Bengaluru. The suspension of the officer, K S Manjula, was reported on Tuesday following an official investigation into the tampering of government land records.

The disciplinary action was taken based on a report submitted by Munish Moudgil, the Special Commissioner (Revenue) of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). Along with the suspension, formal departmental proceedings have been initiated against Manjula.

According to the suspension order, the investigation revealed an extremely serious case of tampering with official records. Properties that were registered under manual registers were transferred into other names by creating new khatas. These "A-Khatas"—which serve as legal documents certifying that a property complies with local building regulations—were created without proper supporting documents or approvals from competent authorities.

The fraudulent activity took place in an unauthorized layout spread over 4.26 acres in Herohalli village. The land originally belonged to B H Gangaiah. Following Gangaiah's death in December 2024, his wife, Girija Bai, and daughter, Tejaswini G, applied for a mutation under inheritance.

Instead of transferring Gangaiah’s original electronic property ID, Manjula allegedly used Electronic Property Identifications (EPIDs) belonging to entirely different properties and registered owners, including BEECHBS and Priyadarshini, to process 76 illegal e-Khata transfers to Gangaiah’s heirs.

At the time of these transactions, the property was under litigation in a civil lawsuit, and a court had ordered all parties to maintain the status quo.

The GBA report has recommended that a First Information Report (FIR) be registered against Manjula for the illegal creation of property ownership records and A-Khatas, which has caused a loss to the public exchequer. The report noted that the officer can be booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for falsification of records, cheating, forgery, and criminal breach of trust by a public servant.