GOWRI ENTERPRISES Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER, a partnership firm, was constituted with 18 partners with 2 minors admitted to the benefits of partnership, evidenced by deed of partnership, dated 12-7-1990 (Annexure A ). The firm was duly registered with the Registrar of Firms, Kolar. The first two paras of the partnership Deed recites thus :

(2.) ). Subsequently, the said eighteen partners entered into a deed of dissolution dated 16-7-1994 (Annexure C ). A stamp duty of Rs. 200/- was paid on the Deed of Dissolution under Art. 40-B (b) of the Schedule to the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957 ('the Act' for short ). The Deed of dissolution contains the following recitals :-

(3.) THE dissolution of the partnership was notified to the Registrar of Firms as required under the Partnership Act, 1932 with a copy of the said dissolution deed. The Registrar of Firms who also functions as Deputy Commissioner of Stamp/district Registrar having entertained a doubt as to whether the document stamped under Art. 40b (b) was properly stamped or whether it required to be stamped under Art. 40b (a) referred the matter to the third respondent under Section 53 of the Act. [note 1. The said Articles have been renumbered as Art. 40c (a) of Art. 40-C (b) and amended under Karnataka Act No. 8/1995, with effect from 1-4-1995].