15 hrs ago
Bombay High Court Orders Kalpataru Lease Registration Without Penalty
Kalpataru Gardens made a very long lease agreement for a plot in Bhandup in 2017.
The company gave the document to government officials so they could decide how much stamp duty was owed.
That process took several years because of appeals, revaluation and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company later used an amnesty scheme and paid revised stamp duty in 2025.
Officials then refused to register the lease because it was submitted after the usual four-month deadline.
The company said it should not be punished because the government process had taken so long.
The Bombay High Court agreed with the company.
The court said the government-delay period should not count against Kalpataru.
It ordered registration without a penalty.
The Bombay High Court ordered registration of Kalpataru Gardens’ 999-year lease deed for a Bhandup plot.
The lease deed was executed in July 2017 and submitted for stamp-duty adjudication the following month.
Stamp-duty proceedings continued through appeals, revaluation proceedings and Covid-19 disruptions until revised duty was paid.
The court excluded the period from August 2017 to April 2025 when calculating the registration deadline.
Authorities were directed to register the deed without imposing a delay penalty on Kalpataru Gardens.
- Who
- Kalpataru Gardens Ltd., the Collector of Stamps, the Joint Sub-Registrar and the Bombay High Court.
- What
- The court ordered registration of Kalpataru Gardens’ 999-year lease deed without a delay penalty.
- Where
- The dispute concerned a 1,050-square-metre plot in Bhandup, Mumbai, and proceedings before the Bombay High Court.
- When
- The deed was executed in July 2017; revised stamp duty was paid in March 2025; the judgment was reported on September 30, 2026.
- Why
- The court found that the delay resulted from prolonged stamp-duty adjudication by government authorities rather than any fault by the company.
Kalpataru Gardens’ Position
State Authorities’ Position
Registration deadline
Kalpataru Gardens’ Position
Kalpataru Gardens argued that the time spent in stamp-duty adjudication should not count against it because the company had diligently pursued the matter.
State Authorities’ Position
The state argued that the four-month period under Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908, was mandatory and that the parties were responsible for presenting the deed on time.
Responsibility for delay
Kalpataru Gardens’ Position
The company said it could not complete registration while the document remained under adjudication before the Collector of Stamps.
State Authorities’ Position
The authorities rejected registration because the deed was presented after the statutory limitation period.
Key facts
- Lease duration
- 999 years
- Plot size
- 1,050 square metres
- Location
- Bhandup, Mumbai
- Lease deed executed
- July 2017
- Revised stamp duty paid
- Rs 22.25 lakh in March 2025
- Excluded delay period
- August 2017 to April 2025
- Court direction
- Register the deed without imposing a delay penalty
Quotes
Bombay High Court bench
The bench comprising Chief Justice MC Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna.
“The delay in presenting the document for registration was purely attributable to Respondent No. 3 [Collector of Stamps]... This delay cannot be held as detrimental to the Petitioners who, without any fault attributable to them, have been diligently pursuing the proceedings,”
freepressjournal.in
“mere delay cannot defeat substantive justice”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
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