Prohibited property and poramboke land
last updated 2026-07-21
Under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, Tamil Nadu maintains a list of prohibited properties — government and local-authority land, poramboke, and religious, wakf and Bhoodan land — that Sub-Registrars must refuse to register. Poramboke is government land for public use; a document over it does not create valid title, even if somehow registered.
What Section 22-A does
Section 22-A of the Registration Act (as amended in Tamil Nadu) lets the government maintain a prohibited properties list. Sub-Registrars must refuse to register instruments relating to property belonging to the state or a local authority, poramboke land, and certain religious, wakf and Bhoodan properties, unless a competent authority's sanction is produced.
What poramboke means
Poramboke is government land set aside for public purposes — water bodies, tanks, roads, canals and the like. Most poramboke cannot be assigned or sold; some categories, such as Natham poramboke, may be regularised under specific rules. Courts in Tamil Nadu have repeatedly held that a patta granted over poramboke reserved for a public purpose is invalid.
Registration does not change classification
This is the key trap: even if a document over such land somehow gets registered, registration does not change the land's government classification. It stays poramboke, and the "owner" holds no valid title. A suspiciously cheap plot is exactly where this risk hides.
The bank-auction angle
Banks auction property they hold as security, which is normally private land — but the classification is still worth confirming, especially for a low-priced plot. The chitta and A-register show the land classification, and the prohibited-properties position can be checked with the registration department. Confirming a listing is ordinary, registrable private land before you bid is part of the homework AuctionScope is built to speed up.
Frequently asked questions
Can poramboke land be bought or sold?
Mostly no. Poramboke is government land for public use; most of it cannot be assigned or sold, and a patta granted over public-purpose poramboke has been held invalid. Some categories may be regularised under specific rules.
What is Section 22-A of the Registration Act?
A provision under which Tamil Nadu maintains a prohibited-properties list — government, poramboke, and certain religious, wakf and Bhoodan land — that Sub-Registrars must refuse to register without competent sanction.
Does registering a document make poramboke land mine?
No. Registration does not change the land's government classification. Even a registered document over poramboke does not create valid title.
Related terms
Sources
Rates, fees and procedures change — confirm the current position on the official portals below before you act.