Disposed¶27

Gulshanbai Akbarbhai Lehri alias Gulshan Akbar Lehry v. Akbar Mohamed Lehry

Bombay HC24 Apr 2026TP/3413/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Withdrawal of Testamentary Petition No. 3413 of 2025, Bombay High Court, Milind N. Jadhav, J., 24.04.2026; praecipe withdrawal; refund certificate within two weeks; court-fee refund delays exceeding a year; four-week timelines fixed for Collector of Stamps and Pay and Accounts Department, Bandra; Registrar General to monitor compliance; Collector of Stamps Mumbai City and MSD; stamp duty refund, Old Customs House, Mumbai.

What did the court decide?

Permission to withdraw the Testamentary Petition; Registry to issue refund certificate within two weeks; time-bound directions (four-week limits) issued to the Collector of Stamps and the Pay and Accounts Department, Bandra, for refund of Court fees. ¶27

Gulshanbai Akbarbhai Lehri alias Gulshan Akbar Lehry vs Akbar Mohamed Lehry — Bombay HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Delays in refund of Court fees after refund orders are issued by the Registry - reportedly taking an invariably long period, sometimes more than a year - requiring time-bound directions to the Collector of Stamps and the Pay and Accounts Department.

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Court's answer

Registry directed to issue the refund certificate within two weeks on the basis of a server copy of the order; the certificate is to be submitted by the Petitioner to the Collector of Stamp Duty, Old Customs House, Mumbai.

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Ratio / Principle

On the Petitioner's praecipe seeking withdrawal, the Testamentary Petition is allowed to be withdrawn.

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Key takeaways

Collector of Stamps directed to personally look into the refund and ensure the Petitioner is refunded the Court fees on presentation of a server copy of the order, with the refund certificate/letter issued within four weeks thereafter at the highest.ratio¶19
In-charge of the Pay and Accounts Department situated at Bandra directed to ensure that any letter regarding refund of Court fees received from the Office of the Collector of Stamps is complied with within four weeks of receipt, with no delay whatsoever.ratio¶21

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bombay High Court (Testamentary and Intestate Jurisdiction), Milind N. Jadhav, J., April 24, 2026 - Testamentary Petition No. 3413 of 2025 (Gulshanbai Akbharbhai Lehria alias Gulshan Akbar Lehry, Petitioner; Akbar Mohamed Lehry, Deceased) was allowed to be withdrawn on the Petitioner's praecipe dated 24.04.2026 and stands disposed as withdrawn. The Registry was directed to issue the refund certificate within two weeks on a server copy of the order, for submission to the Collector of Stamp Duty, Old Customs House, Mumbai. Observing complaints that court-fee refunds take an invariably long period, sometimes more than a year, the Court directed the Collector of Stamps to personally look into refunds and issue the refund certificate/letter within four weeks at the highest; directed the In-charge, Pay and Accounts Department, Bandra, to comply with the Collector of Stamps' refund letters within four weeks of receipt with no delay; directed the Registrar General to inform the concerned Authorities to ensure compliance; and directed the Collector of Stamps, Mumbai City and Collector of Stamp, MSD to enforce these timelines in all cases of court-fee refunds granted by the Court. No statute or precedent was cited; no contested issue was decided.

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P12.TP.3413.2025.doc

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HARSHADA H. SAWANT (P.A.)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

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TESTAMENTARY AND INTESTATE JURISDICTION

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TESTAMENTARY PETITION NO.3413 OF 2025

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Akbar Mohamed Lehry

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.. Deceased

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Gulshanbai Akbharbhai Lehria alias Gulshan Akbar Lehry .. Petitioner

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Ms. Suchitra R. Sabale, Advocate for Petitioner.

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CORAM : MILIND N. JADHAV, J. DATE : APRIL 24 2026

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P.C.:

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1. Not on Board. Mentioned by way of filing praecipe dated 24.04.2026. Perused the praecipe.

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2. Heard Ms. Sabale, learned Advocate for Petitioner.

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3. Praecipe is filed seeking withdrawal of Testamentary Petition. Testamentary Petition is allowed to be withdrawn.

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4. The Registry shall issue the refund certificate within a period of two weeks from today on the basis of a server copy of this order. The refund certificate shall be submitted by Petitioner to the Collector of Stamp Duty, First Floor, Old Customs House, Mumbai which is the concerned office. Copy of this order shall also be served on the Collector of Stamps, First Floor, Old Customs House, Mumbai.

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5. I am informed by several Petitioners who seek such refund that an extraordinary long period of time is taken for refund of the

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P12.TP.3413.2025.doc

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Court fees from the Collector’s Office and thereafter from the Pay and Accounts Office. Collector of Stamps shall personally look into this and ensure that the Petitioner is refunded the Court fees on presentation of a server copy of this order and the refund certificate / letter is issued within a period of four weeks thereafter at the highest. Petitioner shall give all other details to the Collector of Stamps and the aforesaid order shall be complied with strictly.

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6. I am informed that refund of Court fees is then actually issued by the Pay and Accounts Department situated at Bandra. Copy of this order shall also be placed before the Collector of Stamps, Mumbai City and Collector of Stamps, Mumbai MSD and the In-charge of Pay and Accounts Department, Bandra.

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7. I am informed that after refund certificate is filed, Collector of Stamps Office has to issue letter / some order to the Pay and Accounts Department for generating the refund and the refund is thereafter received from the Pay and Accounts Department of the State of Maharashtra situated in Bandra. In-charge of the Pay and Accounts situated at Bandra is directed to ensure that whenever letter regarding for refund of Court fees is received from the Office of the Collector of Stamps, the same shall be complied with by its Office within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of such request and there shall be no delay in this compliance and refund whatsoever.

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P12.TP.3413.2025.doc

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8. This order is issued by Court because this Court in the present roster while handling Testamentary Petitions has received several complaints that even after orders for refund are issued by the Registry of this Court, inter alia, relating to refund of Court fees the same takes an invariably long period of time to realise the Court fees and sometimes more than a year.

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9. Copy of this order shall be placed before the Registrar General of this Court and he is directed to inform the aforementioned Authorities to ensure that the concerned Government Officers shall comply with the above directions and timeline in the interest of the litigants.

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10. Collector of Stamps, Mumbai City and Collector of Stamp, MSD are also directed to take cognizance of this order and ensure that compliance of timelines given in this order are duly complied with in all cases of refund of Court fees which are granted by this Court.

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11. Testamentary Petition is disposed as withdrawn.

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H. H. SAWANT

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[ MILIND N. JADHAV, J. ]

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Digitally signed HARSHADAHANUMANT by HARSHADAHANUMANTSAWANT SAWANT Date: 2026.04.24 19:23:07 +0530

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Gulshanbai Akbarbhai Lehri alias Gulshan Akbar Lehry v. Akbar Mohamed Lehry

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Gulshanbai Akbarbhai Lehri alias Gulshan Akbar Lehry v. Akbar Mohamed Lehry

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

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What the court decided

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