However, the Civil Court after impounding the document, collecting the duty and penalty, is under a statutory obligation to send it to the Deputy Commissioner under Sub- section (1) of Section 37. Therefore, when such an instrument is so sent to the Deputy Commissioner, he has been conferred the power to reduce the penalty already paid before the Civil Court. One of the reasons why such a discretion is not vested with the Civil Court is, it is the revenue authorities who are more concerned with the collection of revenue, and that is not the job of the Civil Courts. However, if a document which is not stamped or insufficiently stamped is tendered in evidence in Civil Court and admitted in evidence, then the very purpose of the Stamp Act itself would be defeated. Therefore, a power is vested in Civil Court to impound the document. In fact, it is an obligation cast on the Civil Court by the statute. But, the legislature does not want to burden the Civil Court to go into the question, whether a case for payment of lesser penalty is made out or not. The Civil Courts cannot be expected to be wasting their precious judicial time in deciding matters which exclusively fall within the sphere of revenue authorities and under the scheme of the Act, which has to be decided by them. Therefore, it prescribes that after determining the duty payable on such instrument, to collect the duty with ten times penalty and then transmit the document to the Deputy Commissioner with duty and penalty so collected. Thereafter, a power is conferred on the Deputy Commissioner under Section 38 of the Act to hold an enquiry after giving an opportunity to the person who has paid duty and penalty to extend the benefit of reduction of penalty. Such a reduction in penalty is available to both the documents i.e., tendered before the Civil Court or produced directly before the Deputy Commissioner under Section 33. No discrimination in law is made between these two types of documents. However, there appears to be some conflicting opinion in this regard.”
