1. Challenge to the registration and stamp duty requirements of a sale certificate issued under the SARFAESI Act. (Para 1 )
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2022 Supreme(SC) 1714
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S. Oka, JJ.
The Inspector General of Registration & Anr. – Appellants
Versus
G. Madhurambal & Anr. – Respondents
Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 16949 of 2022 (Arising Out of Impugned Final Judgment and Order Dated 20-07-2022 in WA No. 681 of 2022 Passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras)
Decided On : 11-11-2022
Advocates appeared:
Mr. Amit Anand Tiwari, AAG, Mr. Sabarish Subramanian, Advocate, Mr. Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Advocate, Ms. Devyani Gupta, Advocate, Mr. P. Shankar, Advocate, Ms. Shivani Jena, Advocate, Mr. Naman Dwivedi, Advocate, For the Appellant / Mr. K. V. Viswanathan, Sr. Advocate, Mr. V. Raghavachari, Sr. Advocate, Mr. A. Radhakrishnan, Advocate, Ms. Sri Ruma, Advocate, Mr. P. krishnan, Advocate, For the Respondent.
Mr. Amit Anand Tiwari, AAG, Mr. Sabarish Subramanian, Advocate, Mr. Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Advocate, Ms. Devyani Gupta, Advocate, Mr. P. Shankar, Advocate, Ms. Shivani Jena, Advocate, Mr. Naman Dwivedi, Advocate, For the Appellant / Mr. K. V. Viswanathan, Sr. Advocate, Mr. V. Raghavachari, Sr. Advocate, Mr. A. Radhakrishnan, Advocate, Ms. Sri Ruma, Advocate, Mr. P. krishnan, Advocate, For the Respondent.
The court emphasized the settled view on stamp duty for sale certificates and discouraged the filing of unnecessary special leave petitions.
Headnote:
Stamp Duty - Sale Certificate - Interpretation of Section 17 of Act III of 1877 and Section 89(4) of the Registration Act, 1908
Fact of the Case:
The court dismissed the special leave petitions and emphasized the settled view on the issue of stamp duty on sale certificates, citing historical judgments and recent precedents.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the issue of stamp duty on sale certificates has been consistently settled for the last 150 years, and emphasized that unnecessary special leave petitions should not be filed with the objective of attaining a final dismissal from the court.
Issues: Interpretation of stamp duty on sale certificates, filing of unnecessary special leave petitions
Ratio Decidendi: The court reiterated the settled view on stamp duty for sale certificates and warned against filing unnecessary special leave petitions.
Final Decision: The special leave petitions were dismissed, and pending applications were disposed of.
Legal Category Hierarchy
-
practice and procedure
-
special leave petition
- dismissal
- unnecessary filing
- disposition of pending applications
-
special leave petition
-
property
-
registration
- stamp duty
- certificate of sale
-
registration
Table of Contents
2. Petitioner sought interference with the impugned judgment regarding the registration and stamp duty requirements of a sale certificate. (Para 1 )
3. The court observed a consistent legal view that sale certificates are not conveyances subject to stamp duty or compulsory registration. (Para 1 )
4. A validated sale certificate forwarded to registering authorities for filing in Book I under the Registration Act has the same effect as registration. (Para 1 )
5. Special leave petitions dismissed; directions to implement the impugned judgment within fifteen days. (Para 3 , 4 , 5 )
6. Is a sale certificate considered a conveyance subject to stamp duty?
No, a sale certificate cannot be regarded as a conveyance subject to stamp duty. (Para 1 )
7. Is a sale certificate compulsorily registrable under the Registration Act?
No, a sale certificate is not an instrument of the kind that is compulsorily registrable. (Para 1 )
8. What is the registration requirement for a sale certificate issued under the SARFAESI Act?
The Authorised Officer must hand over the duly validated Sale Certificate to the auction purchaser and forward a copy to the Registering Authorities to be filed in Book I as per the Registration Act. (Para 1 )
9. Does filing a validated sale certificate in Book I of the Registration Act satisfy registration requirements?
Yes, once a validated certificate is issued to the auction purchaser and a copy is forwarded to the registering authorities for filing in Book I, it has the same effect as registration and obviates the requirement of further action. (Para 1 )
ORDER
1. Learned counsel for the petitioner(s) has made a valiant endeavor to persuade us to interfere with the impugned judgment(s) but not successfully. It is logically so as this issue has been repeatedly settled and if one may say, a consistent view followed for the last 150 years. We may refer to the judgments by the Madras High Court in the Board of Revenue No.2 of 1875 (In Re: Case Referred) dated 19.10.1875 opining that a certificate of sale cannot be regarded as a conveyance subject to stamp duty, by the Allahabad High Court in Adit Ram v. Masarat-un-Nissa , Manu/UP/0089/1883 opining that a sale certificate is not an instrument of the kind mentioned in clause (b) of Section 17 of Act III of 1877 and is not compulsorily registrable and this Court's view in Esjaypee Impex Pvt. Ltd. v. Asst. General Manager and Authorised Officer, Canara Bank, (2021) 11 SCC 537 opining that the mandate of law in terms of Section 17(2)(xii) read with Section 89(4) of the Registration Act, 1908 only required the Authorised Officer of the Bank under the SARFAESI Act to hand over the duly validated Sale Certificate to the Auction Purchase with a copy forwarded to the Registering Authorities to be filed in Book I as per Section 89 of the Registration Act and order of this Court in M.A. No.19262/2021 in SLP(C) No.29752/2019 dated 29.10.2021 opining that once a direction is issued for the duly validated certificate to be issued to the auction purchaser with a copy forwarded to the registering authorities to be filed in Book I as per Section 89 of the Registration Act, it has the same effect as registration and obviates the requirement of any further action.
2. It is time that the authorities stop filing unnecessary special leave petitions only with the objective of attaining some kind of a final dismissal from this Court every time. Costs this time has been spared but will not be spared the next time.
3. The needful be done in terms of the impugned judgment(s) within 15 days from today.
4. The special leave petitions are dismissed.
5. Pending applications stand disposed of.
