The legal ownership of trust property is vested in the trustee or trustees, and the conveyance of property in the name of a trust is legally sound, falling within the scope of Article 62(e) of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899.

I.P. MUKERJI, J.

1. This is an application by Mahendra Kumar Nathany, the respondent No.2 in the original proceedings. The original proceedings (ACT 7 of 2017) were taken out under Sections 3, 7, 10 and 11 of the Charitable and Religious Trusts Act, 1920 read with Sections 32 and 36 of the Indian Trust Act, 1882. The present application (GA 2658 of 2018) made in the original proceedings seeks the opinion of the Court whether the deed of transfer of immovable property from one trust to another without consideration falls under the description of the transaction provided by Article 62(e) of Schedule 1A to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as applicable in West Bengal.

2. The applicant, the respondent No. 2 and all other respondents are trustees of a trust called the Rai Bahadur Hazarimull Trust Fund (RBH Trust). The respondent No. 2, is also a trustee of Bhagwati Prasad Sheo Kumar Trust. The purpose of the RBH trust is to provide aid to the poor and the needy.

3. Rajesh Nathany as a trustee of the RBH Trust filed the original application (A.C.R. 7 of 2013, Rajesh Nathany Vs. Hari Krishna Dooduawala) in this Court under Sections 3, 7, 10 and 11 of The Charitable and Religious Trusts Act, 1920 and Sections 32 and 36 of The Indian Trusts Act, 1882 for better management of the trust and its properties. Eventually an application GA No. 3514 of 2015 was filed in this Court to record a settlement arrived at between the trustees. Under the settlement it was provided that inter alia Premises No. 19A and 19B, Muktaram Babu Street, the properties of the RBH trust, renumbered as Premises No. 2A and 2B, Doodwalla Dharmsala Lane, Kolkata together with 19C and 19D, Muktaram Babu Street, Kolkata - 700007 were to be transferred to and vested in Bhagwati Prasad Sheo Kumar Trust. This proposal for settlement was allowed by this Court by its order dated 15th October, 2015. The transfer was to be without consideration.

4. The original proceedings were disposed of on 15th October, 2015 (order corrected on 8th September, 2017) by the following order:

“It is ordered that the settlement mentioned in various sub-paragraphs under paragraph 10 in this petition (a copy whereof is set out in the schedule hereunder written) be and the same is hereby sanctioned and directed to be effective from the date hereof and it is further ordered that ACR No.7 of 2013 and pending GA No.3332 of 2014 and GA No.2694 of 2015 be and the same are hereby disposed of on the basis of the said settlement and that all interim orders if any be and the same are hereby vacated and it is further ordered that Joint Administrators appointed under order dated twenty first day of July two thousand fourteen made in GA No.1526 of 2014 do stand discharged. And this court both direct that the objects of the Rai Bahadur Hazarimull Trust Fund be carried out. And it is further ordered that the Joint Administrators shall be provided a final remuneration of one thousand Gold Mohurs each to be paid by the same person paying their monthly remuneration by thirty first day of October two thousand fifteen and it is further ordered that this application being GA No.3514 of 2015 be and the same is hereby disposed of accordingly. And this Court both clarify that although ACR No.7 of 2013 is not assigned to this bench. This Court has disposed of the said case while disposing of the application being TA No.46 of 2015.”

5. A deed of transfer was prepared, for conveyance of these four properties by RBH Trust to the transferee trust, without any consideration. Mahendra Kumar Nathany, the applicant in the instant application and Rishi Nathany are two common trustees of the transferor and transferee trust.

6. On 26th June, 2018 this transfer deed was lodged with the Additional Registrar of Assurances II, Kolkata. Till date, the said Registrar has not issued an E Assessment Slip in terms of Rule 123(5) and (7) of the 1962 Rules.

7. There appears to be some dispute between the transferor and transferee trust and the Reg