The completion of a gift after the donor's death is inconsequential, and a document must be registered and have the necessary stamp duty paid to be considered a valid gift.

R.S. Dalvi, J.

1. This Notice of Motion is taken out by the defendants for vacating and setting aside the ad interim and interim orders dated 8th October, 2001 and 6th November, 2003. The plaintiffs and defendant No. 1 are sisters being children of one Edna Sequeira (Edna). The plaintiffs sued for an injunction restraining the defendants from selling, alienating, encumbering and creating third party rights in the suit property being Sun Rise Cottage, a bungalow in which Edna resided until her death and for revocation of Deed of Gift executed by Edna in favour of defendant No. 2. Since the Gift Deed was challenged, it was looked into by the Court whilst passing the aforesaid orders. The Gift Deed was seen not to have been registered until the filing of the suit. The Gift Deed is document compulsorily registrable. It was observed that the Gift Deed was lodged for registration but was never registered. The Court also observed that what was registered was Deed of Confirmation to which donor was not party. Hence the Court observed that defendant No. 1 could not have got absolute rights under the Gift Deed. Consequently an order of injunction came to be passed. It is this order which is sought to be vacated as the Gift Deed has been registered after filing of the suit and after the ad interim and interim orders came to be passed.

2. The Gift Deed was executed on 24th February, 1985. It was lodged for registration on 28th February, 1985. The Gift Deed showed the valuation of the gifted property which was a bungalow to be of Rs. 49,000/-. The stamp duty of Rs. 4,900/- came to be paid at the time of registration in 1985. The donor had signed the document and admitted registration before the Sub Registrar of Assurances, Mumbai. The donee accepted the gift. The Gift Deed has been attested by two other witnesses one being the Advocate and solicitor of this Court.

3. Thereafter the Deed of Confirmation came to be executed only by defendant No. 1 and not the deceased, Edna. It would confer no rights upon any one.

4. Edna executed her will on 15th November, 1999 and codicil on 26th April, 1999 also bequeathing the suit property. She died on 13th May, 1999 and the suit came to be filed in June, 1999 for protection of suit property upon the challenge to the Gift Deed. The Gift Deed has been ultimately registered on 30th June, 2009. This is upon the payment of the requisite stamp duty which was initially found inadequate and insufficient and upon adjudication along with penalty charges levied on 11th May, 2009. Consequently from 1985 until 2009 the Gift Deed executed by Edna in favour of defendant, No. 1 which was lodged for registration, did not get registered.

5. The Gift Deed is a document compulsorily registerable. A document can be registered only after payment of the necessary stamp duty. The stamp duty would have to be adjudicated by the stamp authority. The document lodged for registration would remain at that until the necessary adjudication of the requisite stamp duty is applied for and made if the document did not show the payment of adequate and sufficient stamp duty from the inception. If, therefore, an executant of a document does not pay sufficient, adequate and requisite stamp duty, the document would remain unregistered. The Gift Deed which is unregistered cannot be acted upon and is not a valid gift. It is only upon registration that it would assume validity in law. That would be only when the necessary stamp duty along with penalty is paid and the document is registered. Edna had passed away before registration. Edna, who was the donor, had not paid requisite stamp duty during her lifetime. The Gift Deed could not take effect during her lifetime. She, therefore, continued to be the owner of the suit property during her lifetime. She has executed a will and codicil for which probate has now been applied for and is pending.

6. The contention of the plaintiffs that the suit property has been bequeathed by her and must devolve