The Supreme Court has held that the State cannot impose additional pre-conditions for granting stamp duty exemption under Section 9A of the Indian Stamp (Bihar Amendment) Act, 1988, when the law itself prescribes no such requirement.
The Bench observed that once a co-operative society is registered under the Jharkhand Self-Supporting Cooperative Societies Act, 1996, the certificate of registration issued under Section 5(7) is conclusive proof of its legal existence. Therefore, insisting on a separate recommendation from the Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies as a prerequisite for exemption — as directed in the 2009 Memo — is “irrelevant, superfluous, and disruptive of ease of transaction”. The Court held that executive directions adding burdens or unnecessary procedural hurdles must be struck down as illegal.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the Memo issued by the Principal Secretary, Department of Registration, holding that it was based on an irrelevant consideration and undermined statutory rights and good governance in public transactions. The appeal was allowed and the High Court’s contrary view was overturned. 3
Case Title: Adarsh Sahkari Grih Nirman Swawlambi Society Ltd. v. State of Jharkhand & Ors.
Citation: 2025 INSC 1389