Shah, C.J - (1.) The judgment of the Court was as follows:- The question referred by the Division Bench for our opinion is:- "Whether the provisions contained in Section 47A of the Indian Stamp (West Bengal Amendment) Act read with Rule 3 of the West Bengal Stamp (Prevention of Under-valuation of Instruments) Rules, 2001 are applicable to an instrument executed pursuant to an order of sale passed by a Civil Court in a suit for partition which is conducted by a Receiver appointed by the Civil Court, by auction, after publication in newspapers."
(2.) Following the above reference, a learned Single Judge of this Court has also referred the following question for our consideration:- "Whether the consideration money fetched for sale of a property in course of liquidation proceedings before the Company Court upon re-advertisement, falling short of the reserve price mentioned in the initial advertisement, or the price so fetched although higher than the reserve price but in the opinion of the registering authority is lower than the market value determinable under Rule 3 of the West Bengal Stamp (Prevention of Undervaluation of Instruments) Rules, 2001, should be treated to be the market value for the purpose of registration and stamp duty and thus provisions of Section 47A of the Stamp Act (West Bengal Amendment) read with Rule 3 framed thereunder would have no application to such Court sale ?"
(3.) The facts giving rise to the appeal being A.P.O.T. No. 196 of 2008, broadly stated, are as under:;