An unregistered rent note/agreement, although not admissible in evidence for the purpose of being read as a rent-deed or a lease-deed, is admissible for proving the relationship of landlord & tenant and for any other collateral purpose.

JUDGMENT

Nirmaljit Kaur, J. - The present writ petition has been filed by the petitionertenant challenging the order dated 10.01.2018 passed by Rent Tribunal, Jodhpur Metropolitan, vide which, the application filed by the respondent-landlord under Sections 15 & 21 of the Rajasthan Rent Control Act, 2001 was allowed and the application filed by him under Sections 39 & 42 of the Rajasthan Stamp Act and under Section 21 of the Rent Control Act was disposed of with a direction to impound the alleged rent-note and send it to the Collector (Stamp), Jodhpur to make up the deficiency of stamp.

2. Two applications were filed by the respondent-landlord before the Rent Tribunal. Through the first application, the respondent-landlord sought to file a certified copy of the Will dated 17.01.1994. The second application was filed by the respondent-landlord seeking permission to allow the unregistered rent-note dated 04.05.2006 to be read as admissible in evidence.

3. While praying for setting aside the impugned order, learned counsel for the petitioner-tenant raised twofold arguments: firstly, the rent-note, which is in fact rent agreement is neither sufficiently stamped nor registered, hence, the same is not admissible in evidence and it should not be allowed to be exhibited. Reliance was placed on the judgment rendered by Division Bench of this Court in the case of Banwarilal Sharma vs. Ram Swaroop, reported in AIR 1974 Raj 178 to contend that as per section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, any lease which is produced in writing, should be registered and any written document, which is not registered, even if the same is less than one year, cannot be used in evidence.

4. Similarly, reliance was also placed on judgment rendered by the Apex Court in the case of Avinash Kumar Chauhan vs. Vijay Krishna Mishra, reported in 2009 DNJ (SC) 364 and the judgment rendered by the Single Bench of this Court in the case of Smt. Jamna Bai vs. Tulsi Ram, reported in 1996 DNJ (Raj.) 717 as well as the judgment of Punjab & Haryana High Court in the case of Darshan Kaur vs. The Amritsar Primary Co-operative Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. Amritsar & Anr., reported in 2010(1) Civil Court Cases 810 (P&H) to contend that a document which cannot be admitted in evidence, cannot be read even for a collateral purposes.

5. The second argument was with respect to the application for placing on record the certified copy of the Will. It was submitted that the same cannot be allowed to be placed on record at the stage of final hearing.

6. Taking up the first argument that the document being an unregistered document was not admissible in evidence, it would be appropriate to reproduce section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the same reads as under:-

"107. A lease of immoveable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent, can be made only by a registered instrument.

All other leases of immoveable property may be made either by a registered instrument or by oral agreement accompanied by delivery of possession.

Where a lease of immoveable property is made by a registered instrument, such instrument or, where there are more instruments than one, each such instrument shall be executed by both the lessor and the lessee:

Provided that the Government may, from time to time, by notification in the official Gazette, direct that leases of immoveable property, other than leases from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent, or any class of such leases, may be made by unregistered instrument or by oral agreement without delivery of possession."

7. Section 49 (with its proviso) of the Registration Act, 1908, which is relevant, is reproduced as under:-

49. Effect of non-registration of document required to be registered.-No document required by section 17 (or by any provision of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 to be registered shall-

(a) affect any immoveable property comprised th