Rajamannar, C.J.-This is a reference under section 57 of the Stamp Act by the Board of Revenue. One Moideen Rowther filed a suit for partition, Original Suit No.23 of 1951, in the Court of the Subordinate Judge of South Malabar, at Palghat, against his brothers. The parties entered into a compromise and put into Court a memorandum of compromise and prayed that the Court may be pleased to pass a decree in terms thereof. A decree was accordingly passed, but as it was a decree for partition, the parties were called upon to produce the stamps required for drawing up the final decree. Though the stamp duty amounted to Rs.1747-8-0, stamps only of the value of Rs.90 were produced. The learned Subordinate Judge drew up the final decree on the insufficient stamp-papers produced by the parties and then purported to impound the same under section 33(1) of the Stamp Act and forwarded it to the Sub-Collector, Palghat, under section 38 of the Act. In his letter forwarding the decree, the learned Judge stated that it was being forwarded to the Sub-Collector for collecting the deficit stamp duty and penalty from the parties who had defaulted to produce the necessary stamp papers. The Sub-Collector

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