The case lies in the interpretation of Section 23 of the Registration Act in conjunction with Section 34 of the Bombay Stamp Act. The court ruled that the time taken for adjudication of stamp duty is an unavoidable delay caused by the authorities, and thus, must be excluded when calculating the period for lodging documents for registration. Hence, the Family Partition Deed was deemed to have been lodged within the time prescribed by law.

Under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner challenged the refusal of authorities to register a "Family Partition of Assets Settlement Deed" due to the lapse of the four-month registration period under Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908. The Bombay High Court excluded the time taken by the stamp authority to adjudicate stamp duty from the calculation of the four-month period, thus ruling that the document was lodged within the prescribed time. The court quashed the earlier orders of the appellate authority and directed the registration of the deed.

1. Issue: Whether the Family Partition Deed lodged for registration beyond four months from execution, but delayed due to stamp duty adjudication, could be considered timely lodged under Section 23 of the Registration Act.
2. Held: Time taken for adjudication by stamp authorities must be excluded while calculating the four-month period, making the petitioner's document registration within time.
3. Orders Quashed: The court quashed the appellate and original orders refusing the document's registration.

Para-wise Facts:

1. Petition Filed:

   • The petition under Article 227 challenges the orders passed by the Appellate Authority and Collector of Stamps refusing to register the Family Partition Deed on the ground that it was lodged after the four-month period prescribed under Section 23 of the Registration Act.

2. Matrimonial Dispute and Settlement:

   • Petitioner and her husband resolved their matrimonial dispute and executed a Family Partition of Assets Settlement Deed on 20th December 2011. The Deed involved the transfer of two flats to the petitioner and their son.

3. Decree of Divorce:

   • On 17th February 2012, the Family Court passed a divorce decree, including the terms of the Settlement Deed. The original Deed remained with the Family Court until compliance with the settlement terms.

4. Stamp Duty Adjudication:

   • Petitioner submitted the Deed for stamp duty adjudication on 6th June 2012, and the authorities determined the payable amount by 28th August 2012. The document was duly stamped on 13th September 2012.

5. Registration Refused Due to Delay:

   • The authorities refused to register the document because it was lodged on 16th November 2012, nearly 11 months after execution, exceeding the four-month period under Section 23 of the Registration Act.

6. Appeal and Rejection:

   • Petitioner’s appeal under Section 72 of the Registration Act was dismissed on 6th December 2013, maintaining the reasoning of the initial rejection based on the limitation period.

7. Court’s View on Exclusion of Time:

   • The court held that time spent in adjudicating the stamp duty should be excluded from the calculation of the four-month period under Section 23. The time from 20th December 2011 to 17th February 2012 (date of divorce decree) and from 6th June 2012 to 13th September 2012 (stamp duty adjudication) was excluded.

8. Relevant Judgments and Precedents:

   • The petitioner relied on the judgment of Kirti Jagdish Mulani vs. The State of Maharashtra (Writ Petition No. 2662 of 2012), where a similar view was taken regarding excluding time taken for stamp duty adjudication.

9. Final Order:

   • The court quashed the impugned orders, ruling that the document was lodged within time under Section 23 and directed authorities to register the document within 12 weeks.

Acts and Sections Discussed:

• Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908:
  • Time for presenting documents for registration.
• Section 34 of the Bombay Stamp Act, 1958:
  • Inadmissibility of unstamped instruments in evidence or registration until duly stamped.

Subjects:

Civil Law, Family Law, Registration Law

Matrimonial Settlement, Family Partition Deed, Registration Act, Stamp Duty Adjudication, Limitation Period, Bombay High Court