The Bombay High Court disposed of the petition filed against the Circular dated 16.11.2016 by which the sub-Divisional Officer and Tahsildar of the Region was directed to not mutate the Revenue Record based on the unregistered documents. A single-judge bench of this Court comprising of Hon’ble Justice Sandeep V. Marne held that a compromise decree effectuating partition of agricultural land does not require compulsory Registration.
Brief Facts:
In this PIL, the Petitioner assailed the Circular dated 16.11.2016. Under the said Circular, issued by the Collector cum District Registrar, Solapur, it has been directed that the Sub Divisional Officer and Tahsildar of the Region shall not mutate the Revenue Record based on the unregistered documents and further directed to abide by the Government Resolution dated 21.04.2018.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
The learned Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the compromise decree passed by the courts or in the Lok Adalat concerning the agricultural lands is not required to be compulsorily registered under the provisions of the Registration Act, 1908 (“the Act of 1908”). Reference is made to section 17(2)(vi) of the Act of 1908. The learned Senior counsel further referred to the proviso to section 46 of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 (“the Act of 1958”) and submitted that if the instrument relates to the partition of agricultural land, the rate of duty applicable is only Rs.100/.
Contentions of the Respondent:
The learned A.G.P. submitted that the nomenclature of the document is not a decisive factor in determining the stamp duty. The Government Authorities acting under the Act of 1958 are empowered to look into the contents of the concerned instrument to find out the real nature of the transaction and the intention of the parties to find out the correct stamp duty applicable to the same. The Government Circular dated 21.04.2018 clarifies that it is not compulsory to register the memorandum of Family Partition Deed. However, stamp duty under Article 46 of Schedule I of the Act of 1958 is payable under such Family Partition Deed.
Observations of the Court:
This Court finds that the prima donna grievance of the Petitioner appears to be that the compromise decree, as passed by the courts in the suits for partition and separate possession and or by the Lok Adalat, is not compulsorily registerable document under the provisions of the Act of 1908. After perusing Section 17(1) of the Act of 1908 that prescribes the documents of which Registration is compulsory, this Court believed that under the said provision, any decree or order of a court would not require compulsory Registration.
On reading section 46 of the Act of 1958 in its entirety along with its provisos, an irresistible conclusion was drawn i.e. a compromise decree effectuating partition of agricultural land does not require compulsory Registration in view of section 17(2) (vi) of the Act of 1908 and it would also not require payment of the stamp duty on the valuation of the property but would be governed by the proviso (b) and (c) of section 46 of the Act of 1958. Therefore, the Court held that the Circular impugned by the Petitioner not only deals with the decree in case of partition suit but is of general nature that would also include the non-agricultural properties and different modes of transfers through various instruments.
The decision of the Court:
The Bombay High Court, disposing of the petition, held that the Circular impugned by the Petitioner not only deals with the decree in case of partition suit but also is of general nature that would also include the non-agricultural properties and different modes of transfers through various instruments.
Case Title: The Barshi Bar Association vs The State of Maharashtra and Ors
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Sandeep V. Marne
Case no.: PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO.88 OF 2021
Advocate for the Appellant: - Piysh Asthana,Desh Deepak Singh,Rajeev Singh,Smriti Pandey
Advocate for the Respondents: - - C.S.C,Balram Yadav
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