A copy of an impounded document can be treated as the original and stamped if the original is lost.

ORDER :- This writ petition reveals a shocking state of affairs and depicts in some measure the sorrowful state of things in some offices of the Government. The Indian public are no doubt accustomed to the slow motion of the wheels of Government. But even to members of such a resigned society, the facts of this case will give a jolt.

2. Differences of opinion arose between the members of a Hindu joint family and that led to a disruption in the joint family status. A body of arbitrators was constituted to effect a partition of the family properties and give an award in that behalf. The arbitrators gave an award on 9th June 1959. There was no consensus among the coparceners about the acceptability of the award. That led to some members of the erstwhile joint family filing a suit O.S. No. 23 of 1959 in the District Court of Nagapattinam under S.14 of the Arbitration Act for a direction being issued to the arbitrators to file the award in court. In response to the notice issued in the suit, the arbitrators produced the original award in court along with certain documents on 20-1-1960.

3. The other branch which was dissatisfied with the award filed O.P. No. 73 of 1959 before the District Judge under S.33 of the Arbitration Act for setting aside the award. In addition to that, the members of the branch also filed a suit O.S. No. 24 of 1959 for partition of the joint family properties by metes and bounds.

4. The party, which filed O.P. No. 73 of 1959 and O.S. No. 24 of 1959 raised an objection that the award cannot be received and looked into because it had not been registered under S.79 of the Registration Act. The objection was sustained and the District Judge passed an order in favour of the objectors. As against that order. The party which relied upon the award filed a civil revision petition and a civil miscellaneous appeal before this court. This court held on 17-4-1964 that the award cannot be rejected merely because it was unstamped and unregistered and it was open to the District Judge to impound the document and send it for levy of stamp duty and penalty if he considered the document required stamp duty and registration.

5. Even before this court disposed of the civil revision petition and the civil miscellaneous appeal, the District Judge, in accordance with the view taken by him, impounded the original award and sent it to the Revenue Divisional Officer, Nagapattinam (first respondent) on 16-8-1960, for levy of stamp duty and penalty. The first respondent returned the document on 26-8-1962 furnishing the valuation of the properties situated within his jurisdiction. The District Judge retransmitted the award on 4-9-1962, to the first respondent for levying stamp duty and penalty. Then in the year 1966. the first respondent stated that since the properties lying outside his jurisdiction were also dealt with in the award, he should ascertain the value of those properties from the concerned officers and for that purpose he was sending the document to other officers for valuation report. Thereafter, nothing more was heard for a number of years.

6. Sometime in 1974, the District Judge addressed the District Revenue Officer, Thanjavur (2nd respondent) to find out what had happened to the award sent to the first respondent, by letter dated 9th April 1974. The second respondent stated that he has addressed the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority for certain clarifications and the orders of the Board of Revenue are awaited. About three months later, the party relying upon the award presented a petition through his advocate to the second respondent to know about the fate of the award and he was given a reply on 12-7-1974 that the clarification sought for from the Board of Revenue was still awaited. Then on 29-7-1974, the second respondent informed the advocate that the orders of the Board of Revenue have since been received and the first respondent may be approached for further orders. On 1-8-1974, the first respondent issued a