A release deed does not incur transfer duty under Section 147 of the DMC Act, 1957, as it is not listed among chargeable documents, distinguishing it from a gift deed.

JUDGMENT

Jayant Nath, J. This Writ Petition is filed by the petitioner seeking an appropriate Writ for quashing the order dated 8.12.2015 passed by the Additional Commissioner of the respondent for collection of duty and directing that there is no chargeability of stamp duty on the instrument of Deed of release.

2. The case of the petitioner is that on 2.11.1989 the petitioner alongwith the brother Shri Ramesh Chander Kapoor purchased the property bearing No. N-26, situated at Panchsheel Park, New Delhi vide registered sale deed. On 25.7.2016, the brother of the petitioner Shri Ramesh Chander Kapoor executed a Deed of Release and Relinquishment in respect of his half undivided share of the said property in favour of the petitioner. The petitioner approached the respondent with a letter of request for transfer/mutation of the property in his favour on 25.10.2016. As there was no proper response from the respondent, the petitioner on 14.08.2017 filed an application under RTI Act. Alongwith the reply sent by the respondent dated 11.09.2017 a circular/order issued dated 8.12.2015 was attached. As per the said circular a direction has been issued to the Sub Registrar to collect transfer duty on each and every document of Transfer of immovable property including Release Deeds/Relinquishment Deeds. This circular was issued based on the opinion of the legal department of the respondent stating that in view of section 147 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, transfer duty has to be charged on release deeds/relinquishment deeds.

3. The narrow dispute in the present petition is as to whether a release deed is liable to levy of duty as provided under section 147 of the DMC Act, 1957.

4. I have heard learned counsel for the parties. Learned counsel for the petitioner relies upon judgment of the Full Bench of the Madras High Court in The Chief Controlling Revenue Authority, Board of Revenue, Madras vs. Dr. K. Manjunatha Rai, AIR 1977 Madras 10. Learned counsel for the petitioner has also relied upon the judgments in the case of Pasagadugula Narayana Rao vs. Pasagadugula Rama Murty and Ors., 2015 SCC OnLine Hyd 346 and judgment of the Division Bench of this court in Mahip Singh Thakur vs. Hema Thakur & Ors., 2005 (82) DRJ 311 (DB) to contend that the essential ingredients of release are that there should already be a legal right in the property vested in the releasee and the release should operate to enlarge that right into an absolute title for the entire property as far as the parties are concerned. It manifests that in such a transfer there is no transfer involved and section 147 of the DMC Act, 1957 will not apply. Reliance is also placed on judgments of this court in the case of Srichand Badlani vs. Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors., AIR 2014 (NOC 539) 192 and Jatinder Nath vs. DDA, AIR 2001 Delhi 89 to plead that in similar circumstances documents have been construed as release deed.

5. Learned counsel for the respondent states that there can be no dispute that section 147 of the Act does not apply to a release deed. He, however, states that where two co-owners purchase the property jointly and thereafter one co-owner issues a release deed in favour of the other co-owner a document of this nature would be termed as a Gift Deed and not a release deed. He relies on section 45 of the Transfer of Property Act to support his plea. He further states that a re