Impounding Of Instrument

Section 33 and 35 of stamp act 1899 gives procedure in which unstamped or in-sufficient stamp instruments are to be dealt by the court.

Court can impose stamp duty and penalty instead of admitting evidence. Impound means to take formal possession or to place suspected document in custody of law. Every public officer accepts an office of police shall impound the instrument before which it is produced or comes when it is not dually stamped.

a- To secure proper scrutinizing of instruments

b- To help criminal penalty clauses

c- Authority competent to impound

d- Public officer are authorized to impound the instrument.

a- Instrument not stamped

b- Produced before competent person

c- In the performance of his functions

An instrument must be impounded before it can be admitted in evidence upon payment of penalty. Following is the procedure for impounding Instrument shall be examined to ascertain whether it is dually stamped or not. Authority to impound must be of the opinion and satisfied, that instrument is not dually stamped. Instrument shall be impounded when presiding officer writes in his writing the word impounded and endorse with his signatures. An instrument which not dually stamped cannot be admitted in evidence or acted upon by a court.

Unstamped instrument may be admissible in evidence in following cases

a- Admission of instrument on payment of penalty

b- Unstamped receipts

c- Contract affected by correspondence

d- Admission of instruments by criminal courts

e- Instrument executed by government

Following are the differences between section 33 and 35

i- Section 33 specifies the offices which can impound the instrument

ii- Section 35 only renders such instrument inadmissible generally

i- Section 33 does not impose any penalty

ii- Section 35 imposes penalty

i- Section 33 makes it compulsory to the court to examine the instrument

ii- Section 35 does not provide any compulsion