Naresh Kumar vs Daya Nand
2010 Latest Caselaw 1683 Del

                   * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI


                                                               Date of Order: 25.03.2010
CM(M) No.60 of 2010
%                                                                          25.03.2010

NARESH KUMAR                                               ... Petitioner
                                       Through: Proxy Counsel for Mr. D.S. Dalal,
                                       Advocate

               Versus


DAYA NAND                                               ... Respondent
                                       Through: Nemo.


JUSTICE SHIV NARAYAN DHINGRA

1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?

2. To be referred to the reporter or not?

3. Whether judgment should be reported in Digest?

ORAL
1.     The applicant has approached this Court against an order whereby an

application of the applicant made under Section 33 of Indian Stamp Act for impounding

of a General Power of Attorney (GPA) was dismissed by the Trial Court.


2.     The GPA placed on the record of the Trial Court by respondent is a registered

GPA executed on Rs. 100/- stamp paper. The contention of the petitioner before the

Trial Court was that since along with GPA, an Agreement to Sell, a Will and a Receipt

were also executed, the GPA was for a consideration and therefore was liable to bear

stamp duty @ 8% of consideration. Since it was executed only on Rs.100/- stamp

paper, it was liable to be impounded




CM(M) No. 60 of 2010                                                  Page 1 of 2
 3.     Under Section 33 of Indian Stamp Act, a document can be impounded by a Court

if it does not bear the stamp duty which it legally should. In order to show what should

be the value of stamp duty, the document is to be read in its entirety and if the GPA

shows that it was executed for some consideration but does bear necessary stamp duty,

the Court then would have power to impound it and send it to Collector of Stamps for

evaluating the stamp duty to be affixed on GPA and for penalty to be imposed. It is not

the case of the petitioner that the document in its text shows any consideration having

been paid.    The document gives power to manage the property including power to

transfer the property to third party but it does not show that this Power of Attorney was

executed for any consideration. The court cannot read the consideration mentioned in

other documents to impound the GPA. If other documents executed between the parties

are produced before the Court and Court considers them insufficiently stamped, the

court can exercise its jurisdiction to impound them, but on the basis of other documents

court cannot impound GPA.


4.     I consider that the Trial Court rightly dismissed the application under Section 33

of Indian Stamp Act for impounding GPA. However, that would not stand in the way of

Trial Court in impounding other documents if relied upon by the respondent if the same

do not bear requisite stamp duty. This petition is dismissed.




March 25, 2010                                      SHIV NARAYAN DHINGRA, J.

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