SURAJ CHANDRA GUPTA AND ANR. Vs. DISTRICT REGISTRAR/ADDL. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE (REVENUE AND FINANCE) AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The Petitioners are Advocates who practise at Jaunpur. They have challenged the Government order dated 20th April, 1990 which was signed by the Joint Secretary on 12th November, 1990 and communicated on 7th December, 1990. By the impugned order the Government has prohibited the Advocates who have written deeds to present the same before the Registering Officer.

(2.) UNDER Section 69(1) of the Registration Act, 1908 the Inspector General of Registration with the approval of the State Government made rules regarding licensing of the document writers in Uttar Pradesh. These rules are named as Uttar Pradesh Document writers Licensing rules, 1977. These rules came into effect from April 1, 1977 but so far as Rules 6 and 7 were concerned, they came into effect from 1 -5 -1977.

(3.) RULE 6 clearly lays down that no person shall practise as a document writer except under a valid licence granted in accordance with these rules. To this provision an exception has been carved out in Sub -rule (2) of Rule 6 namely that the question of obtaining a licence does not arise where the writer of the document is pleader engaged by the parties for drawing up the document. It is, therefore, clear that in so far as the pleader is concerned, it is always open to a party to engage a pleader for drawing up the document. Rule 7 further provides that the document written by a person other than a person holding a licence or a person mentioned in Sub -rule (2) of Rule 6 shall be accepted in any registering office. This clearly means that the document shall be accepted only when the said document is written by the judgment writer or by a pleader under Sub -rule (2) of Rule 6. In the circumstance, on a reading of Rules 6 and 7 it is absolutely clear that the document written by a pleader could be presented by him before the registering officer. The view to the contrary taken in the Government order dated 20 -4 -1990 which is the subject matter of challenge in this petition is manifestly erroneous. We, therefore, clearly hold that a Pleader who has been engaged by a party to write a document is entitled to present the same before the registering officer. An advocate registered under the Advocates Act is also in present context a pleader and consequently he is also entitled to write a document in case a party engages him to write a document and present the same.