REFERENCE AND REVISIONCentral
Section 61 of The Indian Stamp Act, 1899 in hindi
- (1)When any Court in the exercise of its civil or revenue jurisdiction or any Criminal Court in any proceeding under Chapter XII or Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898), makes any order admitting any instrument in evidence as duly stamped or as not requiring a stamp, or upon payment of duty and a penalty under section 35, the Court to which appeals lie from, or references are made by, such first-mentioned Court may, of its own motion or on the application of the Collector, take such order into consideration.
- (2)If such Court, after such consideration, is of opinion that such instrument should not have been admitted in evidence without the payment of duty and penalty under section 35, or without the payment of a higher duty and penalty than those paid, it may record a declaration to that effect, and determine the amount of duty with which such instrument is chargeable, and may require any person in whose possession or power such instrument then is, to produce the same, and may impound the same when produced.
- (3)When any declaration has been recorded under sub-section (2), the Court recording the same shall send a copy thereof to the Collector, and, where the instrument to which it relates has been impounded or is otherwise in the possession of such Court, shall also send him such instrument.
- (4)The Collector may thereupon, notwithstanding anything contained in the order admitting such instrument in evidence, or in any certificate granted under section 42, or in section 43, prosecute any person for any offence against the Stamp-law which the Collector considers him to have committed in respect of such instrument: Provided that.--
- (a)no such prosecution shall be instituted where the amount (including duty and penalty) which, according to the determination of such Court, was payable in respect of the instrument under section 35, is paid to the Collector, unless he thinks that the offence was committed with an intention of evading payment of the proper duty;
- (b)except for the purposes of such prosecution, no declaration made under this section shall affect the validity of any order admitting any instrument in evidence, or of any certificate granted under section 42. STATE AMENDMENT Uttar Pradesh Amendment of section 61. --In section 61 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), for the words and figures Chapter XII or Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, the worth and figures sections 125 to 128 and sections 145 to 148 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall be substitute. [Vide Uttar Pradesh Act 6 of 1980, s. 9]
Summary
- Permits higher courts to review whether lower court decisions correctly identified if a document had enough stamps.
- The higher court can review an order on its own or if requested by the government tax collector.
- If the higher court finds the tax was too low, it can record a formal declaration and state the correct amount.
- Higher courts have the power to take possession of and impound documents found to have insufficient stamps during this review.
- The government collector can use the court's declaration to prosecute individuals for tax evasion.
Practical examples
1In March 2025, a District Court decided a lease agreement was properly stamped and used it as evidence. The tax collector disagreed and applied to a higher court under section 61, which then declared the lease was actually short by 500 rupees.
2A High Court is reviewing a criminal case and notices that a mortgage deed used in the lower court was totally unstamped. Using its powers under the Stamp Act, the High Court impounds the deed and sends a formal tax declaration to the Collector.
FAQ
1. Can a lower court's decision on stamp sufficiency be challenged under Section 61 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899?
Yes, Section 61 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 allows a court to review such orders if it believes a document was admitted without paying the proper duty or penalty.
2. What happens if a court finds a document was under-stamped under Section 61 of the Stamp Act?
Under Section 61 of the Stamp Act, the court records a declaration of the correct duty and sends it to the Collector, and it may also impound the document.
3. Does a declaration under Section 61 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 cancel the use of a document as evidence?
No, Section 61 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 specifies that the declaration does not affect the validity of the document's admission as evidence, except for the purpose of prosecution.
Test yourself
Q1.Under Section 61 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, who can apply to a court to take a lower court's stamp order into consideration?
Q2.What action can a court take if it determines an instrument needed more duty under Section 61 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899?
Q3.Under Section 61 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, what happens if someone pays the duty and penalty determined by the court to the Collector?
Q4.To whom must the court send a copy of a declaration made under Section 61 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899?