Admissibility of promissory notes based on stamp duty is determined by the requirement that only adhesive stamps bearing the inscription 'revenue' should be used on promissory notes executed within the territory of India.

RAJENDRA MENON, J.

( 1 ) SHRI B. D. Jain, advocate for the defendant/appellant. Heard on the question of admission of the appeal which is pending for consideration on the question of admission from 20th Octo-ber 1999.

( 2 ) THIS is defendant's second appeal un-der Section 100 C. P. C. challenging the judg-ment and decree passed by the Trial Court and affirmed by the first Appellate Court granting decree in favour of the plaintiff/respondent.

( 3 ) PLAINTIFF/respondent instituted the suit for recovery of a sum of Rs. 10,000/- (Ru-pees ten thousand only) which amount is said to have been given as loan on 1st September 1995 by the appellant. The suit was filed on the basis of a promissory note (exhibit P/3 ).

( 4 ) THE only substantial question of law and the ground urged in this appeal is that a promissory note (exhibit P/3) is not properly stamped, as the promissory note is made on a adhesive stamp, it is argued by Shri B. D. Jain, learned Counsel for the appellant that such a promissory note is not admissible in evidence and the learned Courts below have committed grave error in admitting the same in evidence and decreeing the suit.

( 5 ) INTER alia contending that no adhesive stamp can be affixed on a promissory note. Shri B. D. Jain, learned counsel for the appel-lant seeks interference in the appeal. In sup-port of his contention, he invites my attention to the law laid down by a Bench of this Court in the case of Ismail Khan v. Ram Prakash vferma1. He submits that as the document, exhibit P/3 was not properly stamped, the judg-ment and decree passed is unsustainable, and therefore, seeks for admission of this appeal.

( 6 ) I have heard, Shri B. D. Jain, learned counsel for the appellant at length on the ques-tion of admission of the appeal and perused the record.

( 7 ) IN the case of Ismail Khan (supra), a bench of this Court has considered the provi-sions of Section 1 l (b) of the Stamp Act, 1899 along with requirements of Rule 17 of the madhya Pradesh Stamp Rules, 1942 and af-ter considering the aforesaid statutory provi-sion and taking note of certain decision ren-dered by this Court vide order dated 30th Sep-tember 1992 in Kailash Chandra and Ors. v. Lakhmichand and Anr. 2, in paragraph 9, it has been held by the learned Court as under : "considering the facts of the case, it is settled position that no adhesive stamp can be affixed on the pronotes executed within the territory of India and only adhesive stamps bearing inscription "revenue" should be used. "

( 8 ) THE aforesaid finding is recorded on the basis of the observations and finding re-corded by this Court in the case of Kailash chandra and Ors. (supra) wherein the learned court has observed as under:

". . . . . On the contrary, of Rules 13 (f) and 17 are read together, it is quite clear that on pronotes only adhesive stamps bearing inscription "revenue" should be used. I do not, therefore, find any substance in the contention of the peti-tioners that the pronote in question was not properly stamped. I may note here that Rule 3 has been subsequently amended so as to include revenue stamps issued by Government of India amongst the stamps that can be validly used. There is no controversy on this point. "

( 9 ) IT is clear from the aforesaid enuncia-tion of law laid down by this Court in the case of /small Khan (supra), so also, Kailash chandra and Ors. (supra) that in a promis-sory note the only adhesive stamp bearing in-scription "revenue" can be used. It is also in-dicated that after amendment to Rule 3, the revenue stamp issued by the Government of india can also be validly used. The question, therefore, now is what is the nature of the stamp used in the promissory note in ques-tion, exhibit P/3. A perusal of the promissony note in question, exhibit P/3 indicates that five adhesive stamps issued by the Government of india with a mark "revenue" affixed on the promissory note. Once it is seen that the prom-issory note is executed by using a adhesive stamp with the

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