Stamp duty objection after admission in evidence cannot be reopened, though insufficiently stamped documents may still be impounded.

Admission of a document in evidence without objection bars a later challenge to its admissibility on the ground of insufficient stamp duty, but it does not prevent the court from exercising its separate statutory duty to examine whether the instrument is duly stamped and, if necessary, impound it under the Stamp Act. The transfer deed had already been marked in evidence without objection, so the applicant could not reopen the admissibility issue or seek permission to cure the defect at that stage. Even so, the court remained entitled to deal with the document through the statutory impounding mechanism.

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Issues: Whether a document marked in evidence without objection can still be impounded for deficit stamp duty and whether the applicant can thereafter seek permission to pay the deficit duty and penalty.

Analysis: The application concerned an original transfer deed that had already been admitted and marked in evidence without objection. The governing principle under the Stamp Act is that once an instrument has been admitted in evidence, its admission cannot be questioned later on the ground of insufficient stamping. At the same time, the absence of objection does not erase the court's independent duty under Section 33 of the Indian Stamp Act to examine whether an instrument is duly stamped and, if not, to impound it. The court therefore distinguished between the finality of admission in evidence and the separate statutory power and duty to impound an insufficiently stamped instrument.

Conclusion: The applicant could not reopen the admissibility objection or seek permission to cure the defect after the document had been marked without objection, but the court was still entitled to impound the document for action under the Stamp Act.

Final Conclusion: The application failed, while the document was directed to be dealt with under the statutory impounding mechanism.

Ratio Decidendi: Admission of a document in evidence without objection bars a later challenge to its admissibility on stamping grounds, but it does not prevent the court from exercising its statutory duty to impound an insufficiently stamped instrument.

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