1. This appeal arises out of a suit filed by the plaintiff on a promissory note. The promissory note was executed by defendants 1 and 2 and the trial Court admitted the promissory note as against defendant 1, passed a decree in favour or the plaintiff against defendant 1, and dismissed the suit against defendant 2. The plaintiff has now come in appeal.

2. The promissory note bears the signature of both the defendants, taut it is admitted by the plaintiff that when defendants 1 and 2 signed the promissory note it did not bear the requisite stamps and the requisite stamps were affixed subsequently and they were cancelled by defendant 1. On this admitted position the question arises whether in law this promissory note is admissible in evidence as against defendant 2.

When we look at the scheme of the Stamp Act, it is clear that the Stamp Act does not contemplate the execution of an unstamped document in India when the document is chargeable to duty and as we shall presently point out, the Stamp Act requires every document which is chargeable to duty and which is executed in India to be executed after it is duly stamped and the consequence of a document being executed which is