Refund Of Stamp Duty Cannot Be Denied On Ground Of Delay If Application Got Belated Due To Judicial Proceedings
Case: Mr.Rajeev Nowhar vs Chief Controlling Revenue Authority Maharastra Case, Pune
Coram: Justices D.Y.Chandrachud and B.V.Nagaratha
Case no.: Civil Appeal No 5970 of 2021
Court Observation: “We are conscious of the fact that as a general rule of law, the right to refund is a statutory creation. A refund can be sought in terms envisaged by statute. As discussed above, the case of the appellant is not specifically barred by any substantive provision. It is an established principle that this Court while exercising its power under Article 142 of the Constitution must not ignore and override statutory provisions but must rather take note of the express statutory provisions and exercise its discretion with caution. Therefore, if a statute prescribes a limitation period, this Court must be slow to interfere with the delay under Article 142.
However, in the case of an eventuality such as the instant case where the facts of the case are not covered by the statute, this Court under Article 142 will have the power to do complete justice by condoning the delay. We are of the view that since the delay in filing the application for a refund in the instant case was due to the prolonged proceedings before the NCDRC, the application cannot be rejected on the ground of delay. A litigant has no control over judicial delays. A rejection of the application for refund would violate equity, justice and fairness where the applicant is made to suffer the brunt of judicial delay. Therefore, this is a fit case for the exercise of the power under Article 142 of the Constitution”
“The expression ‘any other means’ must be read in the context of the words which immediately precede it, namely ‘error in writing’. The expression “by any other means” would indicate that the legislature intended to refer to the defacement of a stamp paper in any manner analogous to an error in writing the instrument on the stamp paper. “Any other means” refers to any other modality by which the stamp paper is rendered unfit for the purpose for which it was purchased.”
“The provision cannot be arbitrarily applied to cases where the purchaser of the stamp had no knowledge that the stamp would not be required for use within six months from the purchase of the stamp. In the instant case, the appellant had no knowledge of the fact that the stamp was not needed within six months from the purchase of it. He was in a bona fide contest over his rights with the builder. Therefore, the case of the appellant would not fall under Section 52 of the Act as well.”
“A contrary interpretation would create an artificial class based on economic capacity, as cases where the stamp duty paid exceeds Rupees five lakhs will alone be adjudicated without application of any limitation period as a residual case, while cases falling within the same class but where stamp duty paid is less than Rupees five lakhs cannot take recourse to the provision……in interpretation which leads to an invidious discrimination must be eschewed.”
“A rejection of the application for refund would violate equity, justice and fairness where the applicant is made to suffer the brunt of judicial delay.”
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Keywords
Refund Of Stamp Duty, Cannot Be Denied, Delay in Judicial Proceedings