UMRAON KANWAR SURANA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS application in revision has been filed under sec. 56 (1) of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as adapted by the Rajasthan Stamp Law (Adaptation Act, 1952) against an order of the learned Collector, Jaipur dated 10. 1. 58 ordering the payment of Stamp duty of Rs. 6645/- and a penalty of Rs. 101/- on a document dated 25. 7. 55 sent to him by the Sub Registrar, who impounded the same and proposed it to be taxed as an instrument of partition in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 of the Indian Stamp Act. The brief facts of the case are: -

(2.) ONE Shri Rajmal Surana executed a deed styling it as an instrument of partition and got it registered on 5. 10. 58, whereby he agreed to divide his entire ancestral immovable and movable property worth about rupees five lacs and eighty five thousand into eight equal shares amongst himself, his wife and six children. A stamp duty of Rs. 2390/- was paid thereon. In that deed it was stated that actual allocation of the properties will be done later on. Accordingly, on 7. 11. 53 the said properties by an oral adjustment are alleged to have been actually allotted to each of the co-sharers and possession was also given to them separately and in order to avoid future complications the same was reduced to writing in the form of a document dated 25. 7. 55 and submitted for registration as a supplementary deed on a stamp of Rs. 5/-to the Sub-Registrar. This deed was duly signed by Shri Rajmal Surana himself, his two major sons, his wife, the applicant, on her behalf and on behalf of their four minor sons under the guardianship of the lady. The Sub-Registrar before whom the said deed was put up for registration on examining the previous document as well as the present one came to the conclu-sion that the previous deed dated 5. 10. 48 was only an agreement to divide the property and not on actual instrument of partition, while the subsequent deed dated 25. 7. 55 was an actual instrument of partition and therefore it should be stamped as a conveyance at the rate of twenty rupees per thousand after deducting the sum of Rs. 2390/- already paid on the first instrument namely that of 1948. Accordingly, the Sub Registrar proposed that the present deed should be charged with a stamp duty of Rs. 10,150/- minus Rs. 2390/- (already paid) and Rs. 5/- paid on the present deed, i. e. a sum of Rs. 7755/-, and that the deed should be impounded until recovery of the same amount under Sec. 33 of the Act and reasonable penalty under sec. 40 of the Act be also imposed. The learned Collector examined both the deeds and held that the previous deed dated 1948 falls within the definition of 'settlement' as defined in clause 24 of sec. 2 of the Act and that the latter deed namely of 1955 was an instrument of partition which should be taxed according to the recommendations made by the Sub Registrar. He therefore, on recalculation directed that a sum of Rs. 6650/- minus Rs. 5/-already paid and a penalty of Rs. 101/- be recovered from the parties to the deed. Against this order the applicant has come in revision before us.