1981 (3) TMI 270

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....ative of others, as follows:-- Written at the auspicious place, Shri Baran; please accept salutations from Shri Panna Lalji Birdhi Chandji to Shri Panna Lalji Birdhi Chandji. We have received here from Mahendra Kumar Aggarwal a sum of ₹ 5,000/- in lieu of this hundi. The amount shall be paid to the Shah (a respectable person) on Phagun Badi 10, 2032 BK, at once according to the custom of Shahjog hundis. Signature 2. One of the common preliminary objections raised by the respective defendants in these suits is that the hundis in question are chargeable with duty under Schedule I, Article 13, Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (hereafter called the Act), being hundis covered by the definition of the expression "bill of exchange", as co....

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....ant cases. He held that if the amount of the hundi is made payable on a future stated period or date, the hundi falls within the definition of "bill of exchange payable on demand", as given in Section 2(3) of the Act. He took special note of the error committed by the trial Judge in not treating the hundi in that case to be a "bill of exchange payable on demand" merely on the ground that its payment had been postponed to a future date. In this context, the learned Judge called special attention to the provisions of Section 2(3)(b) of the Act and pointed out that the said provisions give an extended meaning to the expression "bill of exchange payable on demand". If I may say so with respect the learned Judge was....

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....ome of the instruments which literally speaking, are not payable on demand but are nevertheless classified as "bills of exchange payable on demand" may be stated as follows :-- (i) An order for the payment of any sum of money out of any particular fund which may or may not be available. (ii) An order for the payment of any sum of money upon any condition or contingency which may or may not be performed or happen. (iii) An order for the payment of any sum of money weekly, monthly, or at any other stated periods. It will be seen that none of the three types of instruments enumerated above can be said to be payable on demand, properly so called, but they are all included in the definition of the expression "bill of exchan....

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....e hundi in Kanhaiyalal's case (1970 Raj LW 332) (supra) could be adjudged on the basis of Section 19, Negotiable Instruments Act. 1881, it could not possibly be described as a "bill of exchange payable on demand" because according to Section 19, it is only if no time for payment is specified in a bill of exchange that it can be described as a bill of exchange payable on demand, and not otherwise. When we are dealing with the question as to whether a particular instrument is chargeable with duty or not, and if chargeable, whether it has been duly stamped, we must decide the matter solely with reference to the provisions of the Stamp Act. 9. Learned counsel for the petitioners contended that since the payee could not enforce pa....