D r. A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, J.

As these writ appeals preferred by the State involve a common issue, they are taken up together for consideration and disposed by this common judgment. The issue that arises for consideration is whether a sale certificate, issued by a bank/revenue authority to a purchaser of immovable property, pursuant to a sale conducted at the instance of a bank/financial institution/court/revenue authority of the property of a revenue defaulter, will attract the levy of stamp duty under the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959 ?

2. The writ petitions, from which these appeals arise, were filed by various Banks/Financial Institutions/Auction purchasers who were informed that stamp duty would have to be paid on the sale certificates issued by/to them. It was the registering authority under the Registration Act, 1908 who informed them of this requirement, when the sale certificate in question was sent to the said authority for filing in Book No.1 as required in terms of Section 89 (4) of the Registration Act. The writ court, by the judgments impugned in these appeals, allowed the writ petitions by holding that the sale certificates issued to auction purchasers were not instr