What Is Index II and Why Every Mumbai Buyer Should Read It

A buyer in Mulund was close to signing for a resale flat in 2026 when his lawyer asked a single question: had he seen the Index II of the seller's own purchase? The seller produced a sale deed, but the Index II told a fuller story. It showed that the flat had been bought two years earlier for a figure far below what the seller now claimed to have paid, and that a second name appeared as a co owner nowhere mentioned in the current negotiation. One certified page had surfaced a co owner whose signature the deal would have needed all along.

The short answer. Index II, also called Suchi Kramank 2, is the official one page summary the sub registrar issues for every registered property document in Maharashtra. It records the document number and date, the type of deed, the consideration and the government market value, a description of the property and the names of the parties. The trade off it resolves is trust against proof: instead of taking a seller's word for how and when they acquired the property, you read a government certified extract that states it plainly, and you can pull it yourself from the IGR Maharashtra portal.

What is Index II?

Index II is a government certified extract that the sub registrar generates after a property document is registered, summarising the key facts of that transaction on a single page. Its authority traces to the Registration Act of 1908, under which the registering officer maintains indexes of every document recorded. In everyday use, when people in Maharashtra ask for the Index II of a flat, they mean this summary of the sale deed or other instrument by which the current owner acquired it.

Think of Index II as the receipt the registration system issues for a transaction. The full sale deed is the detailed contract, but the Index II is the regulator's own concise record that the deed was registered and what it contained in essentials. Because it is issued by the sub registrar and drawn from the official register, it carries a weight that a photocopy of a deed handed over by a seller does not. It is proof that a transaction was actually registered, not merely drafted. This distinction is easy to underestimate until something goes wrong, because an unregistered agreement, however impressive it looks, does not transfer ownership, and the absence of an Index II for a claimed sale is itself a strong signal that the transaction was never properly completed in the eyes of the state.

What information does Index II contain?

Index II packs the essentials of a registered transaction into a compact form, and each field tells a buyer something useful. It shows the document registration number and the date of registration, which fix the transaction in the official record. It states the type of document, such as a sale deed, gift deed, mortgage or lease, so you know the nature of the dealing. It records the consideration amount, the value at which the transaction was done, alongside the government market value used for stamp duty.

Crucially for a buyer, it also carries a description of the property, including identifiers such as the address, survey number or CTS number, and the names and addresses of the parties, often with their PAN. This combination lets you confirm three things at once: that the property described is the one you are buying, that the person selling to you is the person who actually acquired it, and that the earlier transaction was registered and valued. Our guide to Mumbai stamp duty and registration charges explains why that recorded market value matters for the duty you will pay in turn.

Why does Index II matter to a buyer?

Index II matters because it independently verifies the seller's chain of ownership rather than relying on documents the seller themselves provide. A seller can show you a handsome looking sale deed, but the Index II drawn from the government register confirms that the deed was genuinely registered and reveals the names recorded as owners. If a co owner appears on the Index II who is absent from your negotiation, that is a problem you want to discover before paying, not after.

It also exposes the recorded history of value and dealings. The consideration shown for the seller's own purchase gives you context for the price you are being asked to pay, and the deed type tells you whether the property has passed by sale, gift or inheritance. Read together with an encumbrance certificate, which lists registered transactions over a period, the Index II helps you build a picture of clean, unbroken ownership. For a new project, the same tool lets you examine the developer's title to the land, a complement to the checks in our guide on how to verify a MahaRERA project registration.

What should a buyer confirm on the Index II?

Not every line on an Index II needs equal attention, so it helps to know which fields to match against your deal. The table below sets out the key fields and what to confirm.

If any of these does not line up, treat it as a question to resolve before you proceed. A mismatched property identifier or a missing co owner is exactly the kind of issue that is cheap to fix before payment and painful to unwind afterwards.

How do I get an Index II from IGR Maharashtra?

You can obtain an Index II through the Inspector General of Registration and Stamps portal for Maharashtra, which is the official source for registration records in the state. The online search typically asks you to narrow down the record using details such as the year of registration, the district, the village or area, and an identifier such as the survey number, after which you can view and download the Index II for the relevant document. A certified copy can also be obtained from the sub registrar's office.

Because the search depends on correct property identifiers, it helps to have the survey number or CTS number and the approximate year of the seller's purchase before you start, since an error in any one of these can either return the wrong record or no record at all and send you down a false trail. If you are unsure, your conveyancing lawyer can pull the Index II as part of title verification, which is the more reliable route for an older or complicated chain of ownership. Either way, the point is that this is a record you can access rather than one you must take on faith.

How should I use Index II in due diligence?

Index II is most powerful when it is read alongside the deed and the encumbrance certificate rather than in isolation. Work through the steps below as part of verifying a resale flat.

1. Ask the seller for the Index II of the sale deed by which they themselves acquired the property.
2. Match the property description in the Index II against the address, survey or CTS number you are buying.
3. Confirm the seller's name on the Index II is the same person who is now selling the flat to you.
4. Check the consideration and government market value recorded for that earlier transaction for consistency.
5. Cross-check the document number and registration date against the encumbrance certificate entries.
6. For an under construction flat, read the Index II of the developer's title document for the land.
7. Obtain a fresh Index II for your own sale deed after registration and keep it with your records.

Done this way, the Index II stops being an obscure piece of paperwork and becomes a quick cross examination of the seller's story. The buyer in Mulund avoided a deal that would have been incomplete without a co owner's consent, and he did it by reading one certified page before, not after, he committed his money.

Frequently asked questions

What is an Index II document in Maharashtra?

Index II, also called Suchi Kramank 2, is the official one page summary a sub registrar issues for every registered property document in Maharashtra. It records the document number and date, the deed type, the consideration and government market value, the property description and the parties. Its authority comes from the Registration Act of 1908.

Why should a buyer read the Index II before purchase?

Because it independently confirms that the seller's own purchase was registered and shows who the recorded owners are. It can reveal a co owner left out of the negotiation, a mismatched property description or an inconsistent value. Reading the Index II before paying lets you resolve such issues while you still have leverage.

Where can I get an Index II online?

You can view and download an Index II from the official Inspector General of Registration and Stamps portal for Maharashtra. The search uses details such as the year of registration, district, village or area and the survey number. A certified copy can also be obtained from the relevant sub registrar's office if you prefer.

Is Index II the same as the sale deed?

No. The sale deed is the full contract that transfers the property, while the Index II is the sub registrar's concise official summary of that registered deed. The Index II proves the deed was registered and states its essentials, but you should still read the complete sale deed and an encumbrance certificate as part of your due diligence.

A single certified page can tell you whether the seller is who they say they are and whether the property is what it is claimed to be. Pull the Index II from the official IGR Maharashtra portal, read it against the deed and the encumbrance certificate, and let the government's own record confirm the story before you sign.

Last updated 2026-10-05. PropNewz Team.