State Act

The Maharashtra Stamp Act

34. Instrument not duly stamped inadmissible in evidence, etc.— No instrument chargeable with duty 2* * * * 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 officer unless such instrument is duly stamped 3[or if the instrument is written on sheet of paper with impressed stamp 4[such stamp paper is purchased in the name of one of the parties to the instrument]]: Provided that,— 5[(a) any such instrument shall, subject to all just exceptions, be admitted in evidence on payment of— (i) the duty with which the same is chargeable, or in the case of an instrument insufficiently stamped, the amount required to make up such duty, and 6[(ii) a penalty at the rate of 2 per cent. of the deficient portion of the stamp duty for every month or part thereof, from the date of execution of such instrument: Provided that, in no case, the amount of the penalty shall exceed 7[four times] the deficient portion of the stamp duty;] (b) where a contract or agreement of any kind is effected by correspondence consisting of two or more letters and any one of the letters bears the proper stamp, the contract or agreement shall be deemed to be duly stamped; (c) nothing herein contained shall prevent the admission of any instrument in evidence in any proceeding in a Criminal Court, other than a proceeding 8[under Chapter IX of part D of Chapter X of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)]; (d) nothing 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 the Collector as provided by section 32 or any other provision of this Act; 1[(e) nothing herein contained shall prevent the admission of a copy of any instrument or of an oral admission of the contents of any instrument, if the stamp duty or a deficient portion of the stamp duty and penalty as specified in clause (a) is paid.]