Documents not duly stamped must be impounded by the court, and parties can cure defects by paying the necessary stamp duty to make them admissible.

ORDER :

1. Despite service, none appears for the respondents.

2. The present two writ petitions arise out of the same suit proceedings and hence, are being heard together and decided by this common order.

3. The facts as averred in the plaint by the plaintiff-petitioner are that two residential plots were purchased by the parents of the plaintiff and defendants No.8 to 10 vide agreements to sell dated 22.07.1980. However, the possession of the said plots was forcibly taken by defendants No.1 to 5. Hence, the present suit for declaration, possession and mandatory injunction was filed.

4. On 03.12.2012, an application under Order VII Rule 14(3), CPC was filed by the plaintiff petitioner with a prayer to take the original agreements to sell dated 22.07.1980 on record. It was submitted in the application that although the photocopies of the said agreements were annexed along with the plaint but as the original documents had been furnished for blueprints qua patta inquiry, they could not be placed on record along with the plaint. The said agreements being the whole basis of the suit, were prayed to be taken on record.

5. Vide order dated 01.03.2014, the learned Additional District Judge, Sujangarh (‘learned Trial Court’) proceeded to reject the application under Order VII Rule 14(3), CPC with an observation that both the said agreements were of valuation of more than Rs.100/- but were executed on mere stamps of Rs.2/- and Rs.3/- respectively. Further, the documents were neither registered nor properly stamped and hence, could not be taken on record, not being admissible in evidence.

6. S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.2303/2014 has been preferred aggrieved of the above order dated 01.03.2014.

7. At the first instance, vide interim order dated 04.04.2014, further suit proceedings were stayed. However, the said interim order was vacated on 21.03.2023 and after the same, the suit proceedings re-commenced.

8. On 01.10.2024, an application under Section 39 of Rajasthan Stamp Act, 1998 (‘the Act of 1998’) was filed on behalf of the plaintiff petitioner with a submission that he is ready to pay the sufficient stamp duty qua the agreements dated 22.07.1980 and hence, appropriate orders to get the documents sufficiently stamped and further to permit the same to be exhibited in evidence, be passed.

9. The application under Section 39 of the Act of 1998 stood rejected by the learned Trial Court vide order dated 17.10.2024. The learned Trial Court observed that once the application under Order VII Rule 14(3), CPC had been rejected and the documents were not permitted to be taken on record being inadmissible in evidence, no order to get the documents stamped could be passed qua the documents which were not taken on record.

10. It is the said order dated 17.10.2024 which is under challenge in the second writ petition being S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.20098/2024.

11. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the order of rejection of application under Order VII Rule 14(3), CPC was itself bad as though the nomenclature of the application was under Order VII Rule 14(3), CPC it was infact in terms of Order 13(1), CPC which permits for production of documents at or before settlement of issues. Admittedly, the issues had not been framed till the date of filing of the said application and hence, the documents ought to have been taken on record. Further, the photocopies of the said documents had already been annexed with the plaint and therefore too, the original documents which were prayed to be taken on record ought to have been permitted.

12. Learned counsel further submits that the rejection of the said application on the ground of documents being insufficiently and unregistered was totally erroneous as the learned Trial Court was under an obligation to impound the documents at that stage itself. Learned counsel submitted that rather the Court should have suo moto, at the first instance itself, directed to impound the documents and pass appropriate orders. T