SIRI JAGAN, J. :- The above writ appeals are filed by the State and the two writ petitions are filed by an individual and an institution who seek to get their sale deed registered with the appropriate Sub-Registrar's Office. The issue involved in these cases relate to payment of stamp duty in respect of sale deeds. Since the issues raised in all these cases are the same, they are being disposed of by a common judgement. The short facts required for the disposal of these cases are as follows.

2. By Finance Act, 2005 (Act 10 of 2005), with effect from 1-4-2005, the Legislature amended the schedule to the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959 enhancing the stamp duty payable on conveyance deeds. Petitioners in the writ petitions from which these writ appeals arises and the petitioners in the above two writ petitions are stated to be persons who got sale deeds executed prior to 1-4-2005 and presented the same for registration before the appropriate Sub Registrars' Office. However, the sale deeds before stamp duty only at the rates applicable prior to the amendment of the Act with effect from 1-4-2005. The concerned Sub Registrars took the stand that the rate of stamp duty payable on the sale deeds is as obtaining on the date of presentation of the sale deeds for registration whereas, the parties took the stand that stamp duty payable is as on the date of signing the sale deeds. Since the concerned Sub-Registrars refused to register the sale deeds unless stamp duty is paid at the enhanced rate fixed by the Finance Act, 2005 the writ petitioners in the above cases approached this Court by filing the writ petitions.

3. It may also be noted that in the writ petition from which W.A. No. 1527/2005 arose, the writ petitioner is the All Kerala Document Writers' and Scribes' Association, who have approached this Court to declare that the registering authority under the Registration Act has no right to refuse registration of a document executed prior to 1-4-2005 on the ground that no stamp duty is paid as per Finance Act 10 of 2005.

4. The learned single Judge, on the basis of the definition of the words "executed" and "execution" contained in Section 2(f) of the Stamp Act as meaning "signed" and "signature" as also the provisions of Section 17 of the Kerala Stamp Act providing that all instruments chargeable with duty and executed by any person in the State of Kerala shall be stamped before or at the time of execution, read with Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908 providing for four months' time for presentation of documents for registration, from the date of its execution, concluded that documents signed by the vendor before 1-4-2005 need be stamped only at the rate applicable prior to the amendment of the Kerala Stamp Act, by Kerala Finance Act, 2005 as per which the amendment to the Kerala Stamp Act came into force only with effect from 1-4-2005. The said decision is under challenge in the above writ appeals. In view of the pendency of the above writ appeals, the two writ petitions filed subsequently were also directed to be posted along with the writ appeals for hearing. Accordingly, the writ appeals and the writ petitions are considered together.

5. The main plank on which the State has built up their case is the expression "unless the context otherwise requires" which precedes the various definitions in Section 2 of the Kerala Stamp Act containing the definition clause in which the words "executed" and "execution" have also been defined. The learned Government Pleader would argue that in view of the said expression used at the beginning of the definition clause, the words "executed" and "execution" occurring in the Kerala Stamp Act would have to be construed on the basis of the context in which the expression is used and not on the basis of the definition in Section 2(f) alone. The argument is that since the Kerala Stamp Act deals with both compulsorily registrable documents as well as documents which do not require registration compulsor