HULEPPA BALAPPA KAROSHI Vs. SUB REGISTRAR CHIKODI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) petitioner agreed to purchase land bearing r.s. No. 103, measuring 3 acres 1 gunta of yadur village, chikodi taluk for a sale price of Rs. 13,000/-. As the vendor failed to execute the sale deed, petitioner filed a suit for specific performance in the year 1982. During the pendency of the suit, the vendor executed a sale deed dated 26-8-1985 in favour of the petitioner conveying the said land for the agreed consideration of Rs. 13,000/- in pursuance of a consent decree passed by the civil court.

(2.) the said sale deed was presented to the sub-registrar, chikodi (first respondent) for registration on 29-8-1985. The sub-registrar impounded the document on the ground that the document was undervalued and therefore not duly stamped under Section 33 of the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957 ('act' for short) read with Rule 15-a of karnataka stamp rules, 1958 ('rules' for short). After verification of sale statistics and other information, the sub-registrar came to the conclusion that the value set forth in the deed was less than the market value and assessed the market value as Rs. 90,000/-. He held that the document has been deliberately undervalued to evade payment of higher stamp duty and thus the document is not duly stamped. Hence, the sub-registrar, purporting to exercise power of the deputy commissioner under Section 39 of the Act, directed recovery of deficit stamp duty of Rs. 6,930/-, penalty of Rs. 69,300/- (at 10 times the stamp duty) and deficit registration fee of Rs. 770/-, in all Rs. 77,000/- from the person in enjoyment of the property, vide order dated 5-9-1985 (Annexure-A). The said order was passed without notice to the petitioner and the order was not communicated to him. Petitioner came to know about the order only in march, 1989, when he received a notice demanding payment of Rs. 77,000/-. Immediately he filed this petition for quashing of annexure-a. Rule and stay of the impugned order was granted on 1-8-1989.

(3.) the following questions arise for consideration in this petition: