BHANWAR LAL Vs. FIRM MANGALJI CHHOTEYLAL BARAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The four petitions of revision, listed above, arise out of four different suits for recovery of money pending in the court of Additional District Judge, Baran. The suits are based on similarly vorded instruments, known in the commercial circles as Shahjog hundis. The hundis are written in dialectal Hindi. One of the hundis may be translated here, as illustrative of others, as follows:- Written at the auspicious place, Shri Baran; please accept salutations from Shri Panna Lalji Birdhi Chandji to Shri Panna Lalji Birdhi Chandji. We have received here from Mahendra Kumar Aggarwal a sum of Rs. 5,000/- in lieu of this hundi. The amount shall be paid to the Shah (a respectable person) on Phagun Badi 10, 2032 BK, at once according to the custom of Shahjog hundis. Signature

(2.) One of the common preliminary objections raised by the respective defendants in these suits is that the hundis in question are chargeable with duty under Schedule I, Article 13, Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (hereafter called the Act), being hundis covered by the definition of the expression "bill of exchange", as contained in Section 2 (2) of the Act, and that since they are not duly stamped, none of them can be admitted in evidence by the Court for any purpose whatever. The trial Court repelled the preliminary objection, and instead held that the Sahajog hundis involved in these suits fall within the definition of "bill of exchange payable on demand", as defined in Section 2 (3) of the Act and, as such, are not chargeable with duty under the Act.

(3.) Aggrieved by these orders, the concerned defendants in each suit have challenged them and filed their respective petitions of revision from these orders.