Defination of Mutation:
As per the legal glossary of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Mutation means a significant and basic alteration, substitution of the name of a person by the name of another in relation to property in the record showing right or title to the property.
In other words, when the ownership of the property get transferred from one person to another by way of succession, gift, and sale, then, the records of local revenue authorities regarding that property needs to be updated too about the change of ownership of property. This process of including the name of new or present owner of the property in the property record of local revenue authorities is called Mutation.
Every State has different procedure for Mutation of property. In Uttar Pradesh, U.P. Revenue Code, 2006 governs the process of mutation whereas In Delhi, Delhi Land Revenue Act, 1954 and Delhi Land Reform Act govern it. In West Bengal, West Bengal Land Reform Act, 1955 governs it while in Punjab and Haryana, Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 governs it. So every state has different law which governs the process of mutation.
In Smt. Sawarni vs. Smt. Inder Kaur and Others on 23 August, 1996, Supreme Court of India held that Mutation of a property in the revenue record does not create or extinguish title nor has it any presumptive value on title. It only enables the person in whose favor mutation is ordered to pay the land revenue in question.