IMPORTANT POINT
Documents can be looked into for a collatera1 purpose in spite of non-registration of the documents, if the stamp duty and penalty is paid.

G. Bhavani Prasad, J.—The civil revision petition is directed against the order in I.A. No.701 of 2006 in OS No.1598 of 2005 on the file of the II Additional Junior Civil Judge, Guntur, dated 5.1.2007.

2. In the suit for partition, the documents dated 5.3.1993, written on stamp papers of the value of Rs.10, which were unregistered, were sought to be tendered in evidence and the defendants claimed the same to be partition lists, which need not be registered. They claimed that they partitioned the properties long back and are in possession since long since much prior to the documents dated 5.3.1993 and even registered gilt deeds were executed in respect of some properties obtained in earlier partition. The plaintiff on the other hand claimed the documents to be partition deeds and not partition lists and hence, they are liable for required stamp duty and penalty and are also compulsorily registrable.

3. This conflict raised in IA No. 701 of 2006 was resolved by the trial Court by the impugned order against the defendants by holding that the crucial documents dated 5.3.1993 show by the their recitals that 5.3.193 show by their recitals that properties were partitioned by metes and bounds and were allotted to the shares under the documents. Consequently, as the division and consequential possession were under the documents, the trial Court concluded that the documents cannot be called as partition lists and have to be considered as partition deeds. In coming to such conclusion, the trial Court referred to the various precedents cited before it and found that the documents liable for stamp duty and penalty and registration as inadmissible and shall not be marked by the defendants.

4. The defendants challenged the said order in this revision contending that the unregistered partition lists are admissible in evidence and in any view, the documents are admissible for a collateral purpose of showing severance in status. The documents do not require registration or stamp duty and in any view the admissibility of the documents could have been decided at the time of arguments.

5. Sri P. Vijaya Kiran, learned counsel for the revision petitioners and Sri N. Sriram Murthy, learned counsel for the respondent are heard.

6. The point for consideration is the nature of the documents and their admissibility in evidence.

Point:

7. The copies of two documents dated 5.3.1993 show the recitals therein to be identical and the reference in the documents to the partition of the family agricultural lands with the advice of and in consultation with well-wishers and elders did not specify as to when was the advice taken, when were the consultations held and when was the partition effected to arrive at any conclusion on such partition being anterior in point of time to the documents dated 5.3.1993. The documents specify that the document schedule properties fell to the share of the family members specified therein as per the partition devolving with absolute rights including to gift and to sell. The documents further recited that the respective shares took possession of the respective shares with absolute rights only on that day and from then they will enjoy the respective shares with absolute rights. The documents further recited that the partition need not be subjected to any changes or alterations in future and cannot be subjected to any further disputes of the sharers or persons claiming through them. The explicit language of the documents understood in their plain and prammatical sense, thus, shows that absolute rights were conveyed and possession was delivered in pursuance of the partition only under the documents under such circumstances, the trial Court cannot be considered to have gone wrong in concluding that the documents are partition deed and not partition lists.

8. The learned counsel for the revision petitioners referred to Roshan Singh v. Zile Singh, AIR 1988 SC 881 to impress about the distinction between partition lists and partition deeds an