Aman Kumar alias Aman Singh v. State of Bihar

What happened

The petitioners bought 1.80 acres of land at Village Bare by a registered sale deed dated 9 October 2017 (Deed No. 6362) for ₹14,00,000 and were mutated in the revenue records. An audit by the Accountant General's team noted that the land had been split between a small commercial piece and a larger irrigated piece, and on 25 November 2022 the District Sub-Registrar, Bhabhua asked his Head Clerk to inspect the site and report. The reference reached the Collector, Kaimur, who issued notice on 23 January 2023 and, by an order dated 5 September 2023, accepted a higher valuation and directed the petitioners to deposit a deficit stamp fee and a fine of 10%. A letter dated 26 September 2023 demanded ₹17,36,100 within sixty days, failing which a certificate case would be filed.

Questions before the court

• Could the Collector start suo motu proceedings under section 47-A(3) of the Indian Stamp Act more than five years after the sale deed was registered?

Why the court ruled this way

Section 47-A(3) allows the Collector to call for and examine an instrument suo motu "within two years from the date of registration". The Court held that this is a strict statutory period and that the proceeding here, begun with a notice of 23 January 2023 on a deed registered on 9 October 2017, came more than five years later. The State had argued that the limit applies only in some situations and had relied on Chandrakant C. Adesara and Mahajan Sabha, but the Court held that the action of the Sub-Registrar and the Collector was arbitrary and contrary to the mandate of section 47-A(3), and that the order was liable to be set aside on that ground alone.

Controlling point

Stamp undervaluation proceedings initiated suo motu under section 47-A(3) after two years from registration are time-barred and void.

Order and next steps

The proceeding in Stamp Valuation Appeal No. 01/2023 before the Collector, the reference by the District Sub-Registrar, the notice of 23 January 2023, the order of 5 September 2023 and the consequential demand letter were quashed, and the respondents were debarred from proceeding any further in the matter. The writ petition was allowed.

Practical implications

A buyer served with a revaluation notice for an old deed should look first at the date of registration: where the notice or the Collector's initiation came more than two years later, the suo motu power under section 47-A(3) is not available. The time spent on audit objections does not extend the period.

Limits of this ruling

• The ruling concerns the suo motu power under section 47-A(3) as it stands in the Act applicable in Bihar; the Court did not decide the correct market value of the land.