J.D. Lobo vs Marajal Doggu

Raghava Rao, J.—The question raised in this case is whether a foreign promissory note duly stamped in accordance with the Indian Stamp

Act, is to be stamped again before the actual endorsement of the promissory note in favour of a person who thereafter files a suit on the

promissory note. The view taken by the Court below is that u/s 19, Indian Stamp Act it is incumbent upon the first holder of the promissory note to

affix a proper stamp to the promissory note, before its negotiation in favour of the present plaintiff. The suit in the Court below failed on this

construction of Section 19, Indian Stamp Act.

What Mr. Narayana Pai urges is that Section 19 does not provide that in the case of foreign instruments duly stamped in accordance with the

Indian law, there must be a re-stamping of such instruments over again by virtue of Section 10, Indian Stamp Act. The point raised is one of first

impression and there are no doubt considerations of leniency to the subject which may well support this view contended for by Mr. Narayana Fai.

But there is a ruling of a learned Judge of this Court sitting singly reported in -- ''Sivasubramania v. Kalankarayan'', 1941 2 Mad LJ 301, which is

adverse to the submission of the present petitioner. In the interests of judicial comity, quite apart from any consideration of the correctness of the

decision, I am prepared in this case to follow the judgment reported in -- ''Sivasubramania v. Kalanka-rayan'', 1941 2 Mad LJ 301.

I am not also satisfied that the language of Section 19 is in the qualified form which Mr. Narayana Pai contends for on a proper interpretation of

the language of the section. Mr. Narayana Pai, as I have already stated, is raising the point that if the instrument was already properly stamped

according to our law, when it happened to lie in the hands of the first holder, it does not stand to reason that to such an instrument Section 19

should be applied so as to entail the obligation on the later holder of the promissory note to have it affixed with a stamp once again before he can

found himself upon the negotiation of such a promissory note in his favour. That may be, but for the reasons that I have given, I have to dismiss this

revision petition but in the circumstances without costs.