MAHESH GROVER, J. - (1.) This order will dispose of aforesaid two Letters Patent Appeals bearing Nos. 1685 and 1686 of 2016.
(2.) Both these appeals by the State are directed against the common judgment of the learned Single Judge dated 10.02.2016.
(3.) The writ petitioners(respondents) came to the court impugning the order passed by the Collector under Section 33 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') which empowers the Collector to impound an instrument upon examination. Section 33 is extracted here below : "33. Examination and impounding of instruments.- (1) Every person having by law or consent of parties authority to received evidence, and every person incharge of a public office, except an officer of police before whom any instrument chargeable, in his opinion, with duty, is produced or comes in the performance of his functions, shall, if it appears to him that such instrument is not duly stamped, impound the same. (2) For that purpose every such person shall examine every instrument so chargeable and so produced or coming before him, in order to ascertain whether it is stamped with a stamp of the value and description required by the law in force in India when such instrument was executed or first executed: Provided that - (a) nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require any magistrate or Judge of a Criminal Court to examine or impound, if he does not think fit so to do, any instrument coming before him in the course of any proceeding other than a proceeding under Chapter XII or Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898); (b) in the case of a Judge of a High Court, the duty of examining and impounding any instrument under this section may be delegated to such officer as the Court appoints in this behalf. (3) For the purposes of this section, in cases of doubt,- (a) the State Government may determine what offices shall be deemed to be public offices; and, (b) the State Government may determine who shall be deemed to be persons in charge of public offices." ;