Delay under the Stamp Act Cannot Defeat Right to Registration of Lease
Judgment dated 29.9.2026 of the High Court of Bombay in Writ Petition No.1962 of 2026 of Kalpataru Gardens Limited and others Vs. The State of Maharashtra and others
Section 23 of the Registration Act & Delay in Presentation of Lease Indenture for Registration
The case of the Petitioners is that the Petitioner No. 1 entered into an Indenture of Lease dated 14th July 2017 with Petitioner No.2. Under the said Indenture of Lease, the Petitioner No.1, in favor of Petitioner No. 2, demised a parcel of non-agricultural land admeasuring 1050 square meters situated at Survey No. 201 (Part), CTS No. 283/A(Part) of Village Bhandup, Taluka Kurla, Mumbai Suburban District for a period of 999 years commencing from 14th July 2017. This being subject to the terms and conditions stipulated in the Indenture of Lease at the annual lease rent of Rs.1/- and for a one-time premium of Rs. 5 crores paid by Petitioner No. 2 to the Petitioner No. 1, on or before execution of the said Indenture of Lease.
on 3rd April 2025, Respondent No. 3 – Collector of Stamps passed a Final Order thereby confirming its Interim Order dated 24th March 2025. Such final order (Impugned Order No. 1) also records that since the document was executed on 14th July 2017, as per the Circular No. Ka.4/P.No.617/2011/3008 dated 22nd December 2011 issued by the Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps, the said document is not eligible for registration.
The request of the Petitioner No. 1 was rejected vide order dated 24th April 2025 (Impugned Order No. 2) on the ground that the said Indenture of Lease was not submitted for registration within the time limit prescribed under Sections 23 and 24 of the Registration Act, 1908 (“Registration Act” in short). The Respondent No. 4 – Joint Sub-Registrar, raised an objection under Section 25 of the Registration Act stating that the power to condone the delay is only up to 4 months beyond the initial period and even such period had lapsed.
We find that Petitioner No. 1 had submitted the said Indenture of Lease for adjudication before Respondent No. 3 – Collector of Stamps on 9th August 2017. The Respondent No. 3 thereafter, passed Interim Orders including the one dated 21st December 2018, pursuant to which, the Petitioner No. 1 also wrote to the said Respondent vide letter dated 2nd January 2019, in regard to providing the methodology/computation of the market value for stamp duty purposes. It appears that the said letter was not responded to by the Respondent No. 3. However, due to the onset and continuation of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the proceedings of adjudication of stamp duty on the said Indenture of Lease, could not be finalized. Undisputedly, the Petitioner No. 1 again moved an Application on 31st January 2024 under the Maharashtra Stamp Duty Amnesty Scheme 2023 seeking benefits available thereunder.
In our view, a substantive legal right accrued to the Petitioners to have the document registered under the provisions of the Registration Act cannot stand defeated, merely on account of some delay, which is definitely not attributable to the party presenting the document for registration, that too for reasons beyond its control.
In the facts of the present case, the delay in presenting the document for registration was purely attributable to Respondent No. 3, in passing a final adjudication order only on 3rd April 2025, under Section 31 of the Stamps Act. This delay on the part of the Respondent No. 3 cannot be held as detrimental to the Petitioners who, without any fault attributable to them, have been diligently pursuing the proceedings before the Respondent No. 3, as observed above.
Having examined the relevant provisions of the Registration Act and applying the above principles of law as laid down by the Supreme Court, we are of the considered opinion that the time taken by Respondent No. 3 – Collector of Stamps for adjudication is required to be excluded by the Respondents in accepting the said Indenture of Lease dated 14th July 2017, for registration. The said document ought to have been registered, in accordance with law.
