Indian Stamp Act, 1899
61. Revision of certain decisions of courts regarding the
sufficiency of stamps
(1) When any court in the exercise of its civil or revenue
jurisdiction of any criminal court in any proceeding under Chapter XII or
Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 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 or 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.