The distinction between a sale deed and an agreement to sell, and the stage at which stamp duty and penalty should be collected.

( 1 ) THIS is a petition to revise the order of the District Munsiff, Kollapur dated 26-3-1959 holding that the two documents which had been filed by the defendant in that suit were contracts of sale and not agreements of sale and ordering as follows:". . . . . . . DEFINITELY they are contracts of sale which require stamp according to Article 16 of the Hyderabad Stamp Act. Sheristadar is directed to calculate the penalty and submit. Party producing them to deposit the penalty as levies by the Court. In case the party fails to deposit the penalties the documents shall be impounded and sent to the Collector for necessary action. For evidence of defendant call on 11-4-1959. "

( 2 ) TWO contentions have been raised before me as follows: 1. That the two documents are not sales but agreements to sell. 2. That the learned District Munsiff erred in ordering payment of stamp duty and penalty before the stage of admission of documents in evidence was reached.

( 3 ) POINT NO. 1 : Both the documents are of the same date 14-5-1958. Each of them contains the following recitals on which the plaintiff-respondent rely: 1. . . . . . . the amount of decree could not be paid to you in full. For the payment of this amount, I have sold now my own dry land. . . . . . . (rights in the land are transferred and consideration is paid ). 2. The same has been given into your possession. 3. This land was purchased by me from Sivayya. . . . . . . and its sale deed was registered on 2-3-1950. I have handed over that sale deed now to you.

( 4 ) UPTILL now, whatever rights had vested in me in respect of this land, all those rights have become transferred to you and have now vested in you. 4. The learned Advocate for the defendant, relies on the following recitals in the document; (A) As and when required I will get the sale deed transferred in your name and the Goshware (abstract) will be got completed. (B) The expenses of registration etc. should be borne by you only. (C) I have got this deed of agreement executed.

( 5 ) THE second document alone contains an additional recital relied on by the learned Advocate for the defendants, as follows: (D) In future with regard to this land, for the execution of the sale deed and for the transfer and mutation proceedings, if we are asked to accompany, we will go with you and accomplish the same.

( 6 ) IN Skinner v. Skinner, 57 Mad LJ 765 (AIR 1929 PC 269), their Lordships of the Privy Council had to decide whether a document was admissible in evidence in that connection whether it was a sale deed. The learned Subordinate Judge in that case held that the document was a sale deed and, therefore, required registration under Section 17 and that being unregistered, it was not admissible in evidence. The High Court, on appeal, held that the document ought to be treated as being an agreement for sale rather than a sale deed and that, therefore, registration was not necessary. Their Lordships of the Privy Council disagreed with the High Court, agreed with the Sub-Judge and held that the document was a sale deed and not an agreement to sell, mainly on the following. grounds: (1) The language employed is Perhaps not that of a trained draftsman, but the document clearly purports to transfer the executants interest in the immovable properties which he had inherited from his brother. (2) The document in addition to creating an interest in immovable property provided as one of the terms and therefore, an integral part of the transfer that the vendor should, if the vendee so required, execute a registered sale deed. In this case it will be observed, that transfer of interest in the Property is clearly effected as seen from the language : Vide (1) of the recitals and the recital regarding registration cannot avail the defendant.

( 7 ) IN K. Venkat Narasiah v. B. Pullaiah, unreported decision of this Court in C. R. P. No. 199 of 1959 dated 3-11-1959 it has been observed by my learned brother Satyanarayana Raju J. that the title