Varasat: recording an heir on the UP khatauni

What is varasat, and how is it different from a sale mutation?

Varasat is succession mutation: when a bhumidhar dies, the khatauni must be updated to record the legal heirs in place of the deceased. It is not a dakhil-kharij in the sale sense — there is no transferor and transferee, no registered deed and no consideration; the land devolves by inheritance. A sale mutation is triggered by a transfer and reported under Section 34; varasat is triggered by death and rests on the devolution rules. Both end the same way — a Tahsildar-ordered amendment to the khatauni under Section 35 — but they are different applications and should not be conflated.

Who inherits — the devolution rules

A bhumidhar's interest devolves under the UP Revenue Code 2006: on intestate death by the heir hierarchy of Section 108, and where there is a valid will, by bequest under Section 107. The heirs recorded on the khatauni are those the Code recognises — which is why a clean varasat depends on establishing the correct heirs, and why disputed successions go to adjudication rather than the fast abhiyan track. A buyer dealing with inherited land should confirm that varasat is complete and the recorded heirs match the sellers before anything else.

• Trigger: death of a bhumidhar (not a sale).
• Devolution: UP Revenue Code §108 (intestate) / §107 (by will).
• Filed online on RCCMS; heir affidavit + death certificate.
• Ordered by the Tahsildar (§35); appeal to the SDO within 30 days.

How is it filed?

Online through RCCMS — the varasat/uttaradhikar application on rccms.up.gov.in — with the death certificate of the deceased bhumidhar and an affidavit declaring the surviving legal heirs (a formal genealogy, vansavali, for disputed or contested cases). The Lekhpal verifies in the field, objections are heard, and the Tahsildar passes the order. We flag that the precise document checklist is not something we could pin to an official source, so treat the list as indicative and confirm at the tehsil.

What is a Varasat Abhiyan?

A time-boxed district drive to clear undisputed successions. UP periodically runs Varasat Abhiyan campaigns in which the revenue machinery records uncontested heirs in the khatauni across a district's villages within a set window — for example, Sambhal district ran one from 16 August to 31 October 2024. These windows are district-specific and dated, not a standing statewide facility, so we do not assert a current window; check the district's notice. Outside a drive, varasat is filed and processed the ordinary way.

Why must a buyer care about varasat?

Because you cannot safely buy from heirs whose inheritance is not yet on the record. If a bhumidhar has died and varasat is incomplete, the khatauni still shows the deceased — so the people selling to you are not the recorded holders, and a sale before the succession is recorded invites a later challenge from an heir who was left out or under-counted. Before buying inherited land in UP, confirm that varasat is complete, that every legal heir under the devolution rules is recorded, and that all of them join the sale. An incomplete or contested succession is the commonest defect behind an inherited-land deal that unravels.

Varasat versus the legal-heir certificate

One distinction saves confusion: varasat mutation (the khatauni entry) is not the same as the uttaradhikar/legal-heir certificate issued through e-District by the Tehsildar. The certificate proves who the heirs are for general purposes; varasat actually records them as the bhumidhars on the land record. An heir often needs both, but they are separate applications from separate systems — and it is the varasat entry, not the certificate, that lets the land be dealt with.