AMBAT ABOOBACKER Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Writ Petition is filed by the petitioner seeking for a direction to the respondent return Exhibit P3 application and to condone the delay in submitting the document.

(2.) THE averments in the Writ Petition are the following:- The petitioner is the absolute owner in possession of 44> cents of land in Sy.No.180 and Re-Survey No.497/1 of Velipuram Desom in Kozhikode District. It originally belonged to the brother of the petitioner late Alikutty and after his death, his wife and four children became the absolute owners in possession of the property. The petitioner purchased it from the wife of his brother, Smt.Salma and the elder daughter of his brother Smt.Amina, as per sale deed No.4234/1994 of the Sub Registrar's Office, Feroke. The other three children were minors at the time of execution of the sale deed and Exhibit P1 is the copy of the sale deed. The widow and her children migrated to Pakistan and they are residing there now. When the three minor children became major, they executed a ratification deed dated 26.1.2009, which was executed at Pakistan ratifying the execution of Exhibit P1 sale deed by their mother and the same is produced as Exhibit P2. It is prepared in the stamp paper of Pakistan. Section 18 of the Kerala Stamp Act and Rules provides that ratification deed must be stamped with such value which may be required to pay at the time of execution of the document. The District Collector shall stamp the document within three months after it has been first received in the State of Kerala. According to the petitioner, he was unaware of such a provision and after coming to know of such a provision, an application was filed before the respondents for embossing the deed with necessary stamp after condoning the delay. Since the application has been returned on finding that the time limit is over and there is no provision to condone the delay, this Writ Petition has been filed.

(3.) HEARD parties.