The court affirmed the High Court's authority to mandate the Revenue authority to make legal references under S.57, irrespective of whether a case was formally pending.

1. This Letters Patent appeal is filed by the Union of India and others against the judgement of a learned Single Judge (Mehar Singh, J.) of the High Court of Punjab, dated 21st August, 1964, directing that writ in the nature of mandamus be issued to the second appellant, Chief Controlling Revenue Authority for Delhi State, to state a case under Sub-Section (1) of S.57 of the Indian Stamp Act, in writ petition C. W. No. 189 - D of 1964 filed under Art.226 of the Constitution by the respondent herein.

2. The respondent herein, S. Sarup Singh, filed the aforesaid writ petition C. W. No. 189 - D of 1964 in the High Court of Punjab in the following circumstances :

3. The facts stated in the judgement of the learned Single Judge are not disputed before us. The respondent herein and his sons constituted a joint Hindu family. His wife purchased sometime in February, 1952, a building site in the Diplomatic Enclave, New Delhi, for about Rs. 41,000. The respondent herein contributed Rs. 23,300 as a gift to his wife to enable her to meet a part of the price to be paid for the site. According to the respondent, the amount which he gifted to his wile was out of the funds of the joint Hindu family. During the construction of a building on the aforesaid site, the respondent herein made further gifts of a total amount of Rs. 1,40,000 to his wife to enable her to complete the building. The building was completed sometime in 1954.

4. Subsequently, on 15th February, 1956, the respondent herein executed a registered Release Deed in which he made a declaration that the property in question was the property of his wife. Again, on 27th March, 1962, the respondent herein executed an instrument, which was described as a Trust Deed. In this document, he narrated some history of his family and the property of the family, and then referred to the amounts of Rs. 23,300 and Rupees 1,40,000 gifted to his wife from out of the joint family funds. He then stated in the said document that
"the house at 3, Kitchner Road, Diplomatic Enclave, New Delhi, belongs to my wife Sardarni Ravinder Sarup Singh and neither I personally, nor the joint Hindu family has any rights in it, as already declared in the registered Release Deed dated 15th of February, 1956".

5. The said instrument was presented for registration on 29th May, 1962, and was impounded on the same date by the Registration Authorities under S.33 and S.38 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (Act II of 1899). The instrument was forwarded to the Collector of Stamps to be dealt with according to the provisions of the Act for the purpose of realisation of the statutory stamp duty and any penalty that may be imposed for the deficiency in the stamp duty. The Sub-Registrar treated the instrument as a Gift Deed under Item 33 in Schedule I, as amended in Delhi, of the said Act, and held that the instrument was liable to a stamp duty of Rs. 4,200 and Corporation Fee of Rs. 5,600, making a total of Rs. 9,800. The instrument was originally executed on a stamp paper of Rs. 30. The Sub-Registrar, therefore, pointed out that the deficiency was of Rs. 9770.
The Collector of Stamps third appellant herein, took this matter into consideration and held that the instrument should be treated as a Deed of Gift of moveables, it being a gift of money, and as such, was liable to a stamp duty of Rs. 3,260 at the rate of 2 per cent on the total amount gifted, that is to say, Rs. 1,33,300. So, deducting Rs. 30 from that amount, he fixed the deficiency at Rs. 3,230. He then imposed a penalty of Rs. 16,150, which is 5 times the amount of the deficiency, under S.40 of the Indian Stamp Act. He thus directed, by hi