IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that the time taken for stamp duty adjudication is to be excluded from the registration period under the Registration Act, facilitating the registration of documents.

JUDGMENT :

(Madhav J. Jamdar, J.) :

1. By the present Writ Petition preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Petitioner is challenging the legality and validity of the Order dated 27.03.2024 passed by the Joint Sub Registrar, Class-1, Kurla-4, Mumbai (“impugned Order”). The impugned Order reads as under :-

(Emphasis added)

English translation of the above as provided by the Petitioner is as follows :-

“In respect of the above subject under referred letter you enquired about the registration of the Deed of Conveyance Deed.

In that view it is inform that, after perused the said deed, the date of the execution of the deed is Dtd. 06/10/2015 as per Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908 the registration of the said deed can be submitted for the registration within four months from the execution of deed and thereafter for month cane be produced with the stipulated penalty. Also in the deed of Conveyance produced by you in this office date of execution is 06/10/2015 the tenure of four months for the registration and the tenure thereafter of four months with penalty is barred the registration of the said cannot be done.”

2. Mr. Naresh Jain, learned Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the agreement dated 06.10.2015 is presented to the Stamp Duty Authorities on 10.12.2015, the document was adjudicated on 05.01.2024 and the said Order of adjudication was served on the Petitioner on 05.02.2024. He submitted that there was Amnesty Scheme. The Petitioner participated in the same and paid the entire stamp duty as per the Amnesty Scheme on 04.03.2024. He submitted that thereafter, the Petitioner submitted a letter seeking registration on 20.03.2024, however the same was refused by the communication dated 27.03.2024 on the ground that the document is required to be presented for registration within 4 months and at the most additional 4 months period can be grnted on payment of penalty charges and therefore, registration was refused. He relied on the Division Bench Judgment of this Court in Nestor Builders & Developers (P) Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra, 2015 SCC OnLine Bom 3480. He submits that time taken by the Collector of Stamps for adjudication of the stamp duty is required to be excluded by the Respondents in accepting the said document for registration.

3. On the other hand, Ms. Tatake, learned Additional GP vehemently opposes the prayers made in the Writ Petition. She relied on the Affidavit-in-Reply of Ms. Ashwini Patil, the Collector of Stamps, Enc-2, Mumbai, dated 02.08.2024 as well as Affidavit-in-Reply of Mr. Mangesh P. Chaudhari, Joint Sub-Registrar, Class-II, Kurla-4, Mumbai, dated 16.08.2024. She submitted that the document could be registered only after compliance with the provisions under Sections 23 and 25 of the Registration Act, 1908 (“the Registration Act”) and failing which the same cannot be registered. She submits that the Petitioner has merely sent a copy of the Deed of Conveyance dated 06.10.2015 along with letter dated 28.03.2024 addressed to the Office of the Joint Sub-Registrar, Taluka-3, Taluka-4, Kurla, and requested that the time taken by the Respondent No.5 for adjudication be excluded from the same. She relied on Sections 23 and 25 of the Registration Act.

4. Before considering the rival contentions, it is necessary to set out a chart of the computation of period for the purpose of Section 23 of the Act, as provided by the Petitioner. The said chart is as follows :-