ash83 (Business) 19 September 2025

Impounding documents before evidence

Dear all,

I have a filed title suit based on registered documents and recovery of portion of property sold by defendant.

Defendent has filed written statement and in list of documents he has filed XEROX copies of notarized gpa dated 1990 which is on stamp paper of Rs. 30 based on which my property is sold.

Pricipal XYZ in gpa is also someone not us .....the gpa holder is also not the defendant one 3rd party.

In WS Def claims 3rd party was authorized by him to obtain gpa on his behalf from pricipal XYZ... no relationship is mentioned between 3rd party and dependent.

The matter is posted for framing of issues.

However in recital of sale deed is it stated XYZ entered in agreeemt of sale and as gpa holder of XYZ defendant has sold our property.

Now...

1st. What is the procedure to call for defendant to produce originals of these unstamped XEROX copies of gpa which he has listed in documents filed by him..

but he has not filed agreement of sale mentioned in sale deed in list of documents....how to ask him to produce original sale agreement before court and then I can ask court to impound.

2. The 3rd party gpa holder is dead. If court impunds ... gpa holder should pay stamp duty or defendant will be allowed to pay stamp duty ..

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8 Replies

kavksatyanarayana (subregistrar/supdt.(retired)) 19 September 2025

The GPA was executed in the year 1990. Why have you been silent all these decades?

ash83 (Business) 19 September 2025

Defendent has produced in court after suit was filed.. seeing first time

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 20 September 2025

The court will insist on production of the original documents during the trial on the person who relies upon such documents, if they don't do so then it will not be marked as exhibits.

This is a matter of trial, the court is yet to frame issues hence you may wait for the trial to begin to see the developments accordingly.

ash83 (Business) 20 September 2025

Dear sir, thanks for the reply,

I want to direct party to produce unstampped orginals because, i read duty is cast upon trail court to impound the documents which are unstampped as per 33 of stamp act even before the documetn is marked as exhibit. also the court can take conscience that, the seller has not authority over GPA since GPA is holder is not seller. Once when document is sent to DR to calculate stamp duty. DR can make his observation that GPA holder is different from Seller.

Dr. J C Vashista (Advocate ) 20 September 2025

Any under-stamped document produced before the Sub-Registrar / Court for registration / evidence shall be impounded u/s 33 of Stamps Act, 1899, which reads as,

"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 descripttion required by the law in force in India when such instrument was executed or first executed:

Provided that:

(a)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 (5 of 1898)] [ Now see the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).];

(b)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

(3)For the purposes of this section, in cases of doubt,

(a)[the [State Government] [Substituted by A.O.1937, for "the Governor-General in Council" .]] may determine what offices shall be deemed to be public offices; and

(b)[the [State Government] [Substituted by A.O.1937, for "the Governor-General in Council" .]] may determine who shall be deemed to be persons in charge of public offices"

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ash83 (Business) 20 September 2025

Based on xerox notarized copies gpa field by defendents..can impoind application be filed also directly defendents to produce originals in same ia under section 33 of stamp act read with section order 11 rule 14

Dr. J C Vashista (Advocate ) 21 September 2025

Yes, you can file an application to the Court to direct the defendant to produce originals of the documents during pendency of the suit.

The plaintiff can issue a notice under Order XII Rule 8 CPC to produce the original documents before the Court.

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P. Venu (Advocate) 22 September 2025

It is sufficient that copies are filed with the Written Statment. However, the original documents or their copies certified by the SRO needs to be produced. Any action, at present, could be hasty.

Moreover, you can apply and get certified copies from the SRO.