B.N. Srikrishna, CJ.

All these petitions under Art.226 of the Constitution of India raise a common question of law and, therefore, they can be properly disposed of by a common judgment.

2. By an order dated 23rd October, 2001, rendered in O.P. Nos. 16943,17651 and 18089 of 2001, a learned judge of this Court (G.Sivarajan, J.) entertained a doubt as to the correct position in law with regard to the construction of S.45-B of the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959 and referred three original petitions for decision thereupon by a Division Bench. In view of the importance of this question, while the issue was pending before the Division Bench of this Court, the other matters were also referred to the Division Bench of this Court.

3. After hearing learned counsel, this Court formulated the question of law to be decided by this Court as under:

"When there is a dispute as to the stamp duty payable on the instrument subject to registration, after registration, is the registering authority under the provisions of the Kerala Stamp Act entitled to retain possession of the original document or is it obliged to return the document and take appropriate proceedings under the Act?"

4. For answering the question of law, it is not necessary to go into the details of facts in each individual petition. Suffice it to say that, in each of these petitions some Editor's Note : Reference order reported in 2002 (1) KLT 18 instrument was tendered for registration under the provisions of the Indian Registration Act. After registering the instrument, the Registering Officer, who had reason to believe that the value of the property or the consideration, as the case may be, had not been truly set forth in the instrument, decided to refer it to the Collector for determination of the value or consideration, as the case may be, and proper duty payable thereon. Consequently, the registered instrument is not being returned to the petitioners pending adjudication of the proper duty thereupon by the Collector under sub-s.(2) of S.45-B of the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959. The petitioners are aggrieved by this action of the Registering Officer and they contend that there is no warrant or authority vested in the Registering Officer under S.45-B of the Act to retain possession of the instrument, once the formalities of registration have been completed and the instrument has been registered. Hence, it has become necessary to construe the provisions of S.45-B so as to answer the question referred to and formulated by this Bench in the beginning of the judgment.

5. Entry 91 in List-I of Seventh Schedule invests the Parliament with exclusive power to make Laws with respect to "rates of stamp duty in respect of bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes, bills of lading, letters of credit, policies of insurance, transfer of shares, debentures, proxies and receipts." Entry 6 of List-Ill (Concurrent List) empowers both Parliament and State Legislature to make Laws on the subject of "transfer of property other than agricultural land; registration of deeds and documents". Entry 63 in List-II (State List) empowers the State Legislature exclusively to make laws on "rates of stamp duty in respect of documents other than those specified in the provisions of List I with regard to rates of stamp duty".

6. The Registration Act, 1908 was enacted in British India as a consolidating Act relating to the subject of registration of documents. Part-II of this Act deals with the duties and powers of registering officers. S.51 requires the Registering Officers to keep books as prescribed thereunder in different parts. Under S.52, when the document is presented for registration, the day, hour and place of presentation, and the signature of every person presenting a document for registration, shall be endorsed on every such document at the time of presenting it. The Registering Officer shall issue receipt for such document to the person presenting it. The document admitted to registration shall, without u