Impounding of unstamped document
Querist :
Anonymous
(Querist) 23 December 2011
This query is : Resolved
Hi sir, can a criminal court has power to impound an unstamped document after completing cross examination in a case u/sec.138 of N.I. Act. If yes, the concerned rules/laws, if NO, how. Please enlighten on this aspect.
Sanjeevappa. L
(Expert) 23 December 2011
criminal court can impound insufficiently stamped document. Now the question is whether such document is marked as exhibit without any objection from other side or not. Even though if it is marked, it does not prevent the court to impound such document and collect duty and penalty. The relevent section is 34 of Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957. kindly see the citation ILR 1996(1)Karnataka page No. 136.
Guest
(Expert) 24 December 2011
Agree with Shri Sanjeevappa.
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 24 December 2011
33. Examination and impounding of instruments - (1) Every person having by law or consent of parties authority to receive evidence, and every person in charge of a public office, except an officer of police before whom any instrument, chargeable, in his opinion, with duty, is produced or comes in the performance of his functions, shall if it appears to him that such instrument is not duly stamped, impound the same.
(2) For that purpose every such person shall examine every instrument, so chargeable and so produced or coming before him, in order to ascertain whether it is stamped with a stamp of the value and description required by the law in force in 3[India] when such instrument was executed or first executed :
Provided that-
nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require any Magistrate or Judge of a Criminal Court to examine or impound, if he does not think fit so to do, any instrument coming before him in the course of any proceeding other than a proceeding under Chapter XII or Chapter XXXVI, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898;
in the case of a Judge of a High Court, the duty of examining and impounding any instrument under this section may be delegated to such officer as the Court appoints in this behalf.
Shonee Kapoor
(Expert) 24 December 2011
Agreed with Ld. Sanjeevappa and Ld. Mr. Prabhakar Singh Ji.
Regards,
Shonee Kapoor
harassed.by.498a@gmail.com
Arun Kumar Bhagat
(Expert) 25 December 2011
Only Mr.Prabhakar Singh ji is right. In one of my case in N.I.Act, I produced a Promissory Note written in a chit i.e. Rukka in common parlance, the Judge threatened to impound and levy penalty. I went through the Indian Stamp Act and found that in criminal proceeding it is not operative. Ultimately I won the case and accused was sentenced.
DEFENSE ADVOCATE.-firmaction@g
(Expert) 25 December 2011
Only exemption to criminal courts that they can not impound but it does not mean illegal documents can be taken as evidence.
Section 294 CRPC gives that power to accused.
Mr Bhagat may have used his pressure for using a rukka as admissible evidence for conviction but it is not legal if properly objected by defense.
