JUDGMENT 1. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner-defendant (for short, 'the defendant1) against the order dated 13.12.2019 passed by the Trial Court in Civil Suit No. 15/2013, whereby the application filed by the defendant for not exhibiting the agreements to sell, being unregistered and insufficiently stamped, has been dismissed. 2. Learned counsel for the defendant submits that the respondent-plaintiff (for short, 'the plaintiff) filed a suit against the defendants for declaration and cancellation of the registered sale deed dated 17.10.2012. During the pendency of the suit, the plaintiff produced four agreements to sell. The defendant filed an application for not exhibiting them being insufficiently stamped and unregistered, but the Trial Court dismissed the same in an arbitrary manner. He further submits that insufficiently stamped and unregistered agreements to sell could not be used for any purpose. However, the learned trial court has utterly failed to consider this aspect of the matter and erred while giving a perverse finding that they have been produced as a linking evidence. On this count, the impugned order is liable to be quashed and set-aside. 3. On the other hand, learned counsel for the plaintiff submits that the agreements were executed on stamp duty, as prevalent at the relevant point of time, therefore, they were admissible in evidence. He further submits that the suit was filed on the basis of registered sale deed dated 17.2.2012 and agreements to sell dated 7.3.1992, 6.5.1992 and 25.5.1993 were produced as a linking evidence. For this reason, no interference with the impugned order is required by this Court. 4. Heard. Considered. 5. For ready reference, provisions of Sections 33 and 35 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (for short, 'the Act of 1899') and Sections 17 and 49 of the Registration Act, 1908 (for short, 'the Act of 1908') are reproduced as under: Indian Stamp Act, 1899 "33. 4. Heard. Considered. 5. For ready reference, provisions of Sections 33 and 35 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (for short, 'the Act of 1899') and Sections 17 and 49 of the Registration Act, 1908 (for short, 'the Act of 1908') are reproduced as under: Indian Stamp Act, 1899 "33. Examination and impounding of instruments - (1) Every person having by law or consent of parties authority to receive evidence, and every person in charge 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 : [Provided that noting contained in this sub-section shall be deemed to authorise the Collector to impound any instrument which has not been executed but is brought to him under section 31 for determining the duty with which the instrument is chargeable or any instrument which he is authorised to endorse under section 32.] (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 law in froce in India when such instrument was executed or first executed : Provided that - (a) noting 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 of Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 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 officers." "35. (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 officers." "35. Instruments not duly stamped inadmissible in evidence, etc -No instrument chargeable with duty shall be admitted in evidence for any purpose by any person having by law or consent of parties authority to receive evidence or shall be acted upon, registered or authenticated by any such person or by any public office, unless such instruments is duly stamped : Provided that (a) any such instrument not being [a receipt], a bill of exchange or promissory note, shall, subject to all just exceptions, be admitted in evidence on payment of the duty with which the same is chargeable, or, in the case of an instrument insufficiently stamped, of the amount required to make up such duty, together with a penalty of five rupees, of, when ten times the amount of the proper duty or deficient portion thereof exceeds five rupees, of a sum equal to ten times such duty or portion. (b) where any person from whom a stamped receipt could have been demanded, has given an unstamped receipt and such receipt, if stamped, would be admissible in evidence against him them such receipt shall be admitted in evidence against him on payment of a penalty of one rupee by the person tendering it ; (c) where a contract or agreement of any kind is effected by correspondence consisting of two or more letters and any of the letters bears the proper stamp, the contract or agreement shall be deemed to be duly stamped; (d) noting therein contained shall prevent the admission of any instrument in evidence in any proceeding in a Criminal Court, other than a proceeding under Chapter XII or Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898; (e) noting herein contained shall prevent the admission of any instrument in any Court when such instrument has been executed by or on behalf of the Government, or where it bears the certificate of Collector as provided by section 32 or any other provision of this Act; [(f) any such instrument not being a bill of exchange or promissory note shall, subject to all just exceptions, be registered or authenticated on payment of the duty with which the same is chargeable, or in the case of an instrument insufficiently stamped, of the amount required to make up such duty.]" Registration Act, 1908 17. Documents of which registration is compulsory. Documents of which registration is compulsory. (1) The following documents shall be registered, if the property to which they relate is situate in a district in which, and if they have been executed on or after the date on which, Act No. XVI of 1864, or the Indian Registration Act, 1866, or the Indian Registration Act, 1871, or the Indian Registration Act, 1877, or this Act came or comes into force, namely: (a) instruments of gift of immovable property; (b) other non-testamentary instruments which purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immovable property; (c) non-testamentary instruments which acknowledge the receipt or payment of any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any such right, title or interest; and (d) leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent; [(e) non-testamentary instruments transferring or assigning any decree or order of a Court or any award when such decree or order or award purports or operates to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immovable property:] Provided that the [State Government] may, by order published in the [Official Gazette], exempt from the operation of this subsection any lease executed in any district, or part of a district, the terms granted by which do not exceed five years and the annual rents reserved by which do not exceed fifty rupees. [(1A) The documents containing contracts to transfer for consideration, any immovable property for the purpose of section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882) shall be registered if they have been executed on or after the commencement of the Registration and Other Related laws (Amendment) Act, 2001 (48 of 2001) and if such documents are not registered on or after such commencement, then, they shall have no effect for the purposes of the said section 53A.] (2) Nothing in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) applies to (i) any composition deed; or (ii) any instrument relating to shares in a joint stock Company, notwithstanding that the assets of such Company consist in whole or in part of immovable property; or (iii) any debenture issued by any such Company and not creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest, to or in immovable property except in so far as it entitles the holder to the security afforded by a registered instrument whereby the Company has mortgaged, conveyed or otherwise transferred the whole or part of its immovable property or any interest therein to trustees upon trust for the benefit of the holders of such debentures; or (iv) any endorsement upon or transfer of any debenture issued by any such Company; or (v) [any document other than the documents specified in subsection (1A)] not itself creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards to or in immovable property, but merely creating a right to obtain another document which will, when executed, create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish any such right, title or interest; or (vi) any decree or order of a Court [except a decree or order expressed to be made on a compromise and comprising immovable property other than that which is the subject-matter of the suit or proceeding]; or (vii) any grant of immovable property by [Government]; or (viii) any instrument of partition made by a Revenue-Officer; or (ix) any order granting a loan or instrument of collateral security granted under the Land Improvement Act, 1871, or the Land Improvement Loans Act, 1883; or (x) any order granting a loan under the Agriculturists, Loans Act, 1884, or instrument for securing the repayment of a loan made under that Act; or [(xa) any order made under the Charitable Endowments Act, 1890 (6 of 1890), vesting any property in a Treasurer of Charitable Endowments or divesting any such Treasurer of any property; or] (xi) any endorsement on a mortgage-deed acknowledging the payment of the whole or any part of the mortgage-money, and any other receipt for payment of money due under a mortgage when the receipt does not purport to extinguish the mortgage; or (xii) any certificate of sale granted to the purchaser of any property sold by public auction by a Civil or Revenue-Officer. [Explanation. A document purporting or operating to effect a contract for the sale of immovable property shall not be deemed to require or ever to have required registration by reason only of the fact that such document contains a recital of the payment of any earnest money or of the whole or any part of the purchase money.] (3) Authorities to adopt a son, executed after the 1st day of January, 1872, and not conferred by a will, shall also be registered. 49. Effect of non-registration of documents required to be registered. No document required by section 17 [or by any provision of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882)], to be registered shall (a) affect any immovable property comprised therein, or (b) confer any power to adopt, or (c) be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such property or conferring such power, unless it has been registered: Provided that an unregistered document affecting immovable property and required by this Act or the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), to be registered may be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance under Chapter II of the Specific Relief Act, 1877 (3 of 1877), *** or as evidence of any collateral transaction not required to be effected by registered instrument.]" 6. From a perusal of the aforesaid legal provisions, it is clear that if an instrument is chargeable with duty, is not duly stamped, shall be impounded and if requisite stamp duty is not paid, it shall not be admitted in evidence. Similarly, without registration, a document which is necessarily required to be registered, shall not be received as evidence of any transaction affecting immovable property or conferring any power to adopt. 7. The trial court while passing the impugned order, observed as under: 8. Admittedly, an objection was raised by the defendant for not admitting the agreements to sell in question in evidence, being unregistered and insufficiently stamped. 9. While considering the agreements to sell dated 7.3.1992, 6.5.1992 and 26.5.1993, it was not examined by the Trial Court as to whether they were compulsorily required to be registered or not and/or they were properly stamped or not. 9. While considering the agreements to sell dated 7.3.1992, 6.5.1992 and 26.5.1993, it was not examined by the Trial Court as to whether they were compulsorily required to be registered or not and/or they were properly stamped or not. The trial court has utterly failed to consider the provisions of Section 33 and 35 of the Act of 1899 and Sections 17 and 49 of the Act of 1908 and thus, committed material illegality while passing the impugned order 10. For these reasons, the impugned order dated 13.12.2019 passed by the Trial Court is quashed and set-aside. The trial court is directed to decide the application filed by the defendant afresh on its own merits, after considering the relevant provisions of law and without being influenced by its previous order dated 13.12.2019. 11. The writ petition stand disposed of accordingly. 12. Consequent upon the disposal of the writ petition, ex-parte interim order dated 5.2.2020 is vacated and resultantly the stay application and all pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of accordingly.