(1)Every person having by law or consent of parties authority to receive evidence, and every persons in charge of a public office, except [an officer of police or any other officer empowered by law to investigate offences] [Substituted by Act No. XII of 2011, dated 25th April, 2011.], before whom any instrument, chargeable in his opinion, with duty, is produced or comes in the performance of his functions, shall, if it appears to him that such instrument is not duly stamped, impound the same.(2)For that purpose every such person shall examine every instrument so chargeable and so produced or coming before him in order to ascertain whether it is stamped with a stamp of the value and description required by the law in force in the State when such instrument was executed or first executed :Provided that-(a)nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require any Magistrate or Judge of a Criminal Court to examine or impound, if he does not think fit so to do, any instrument coming before him in the course of any proceeding other than a proceeding under Chapter XII or Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure;(b)in the case of a Judge of the High Court, the duty of examining and impounding any instrument under this section may be delegated to such officer as the Court appoints in this behalf.(3)For the purposes of this section, in case of doubt, [the Government] [In section 9, 10, 16, 18, 26, 33(3), 37, 49, 57, 70(1), 75, 76-A and 78 for the words 'High Highness' the words 'the Government' substituted by Act X of 1996.] may determine what offices should be public offices and who shall be deemed to be persons in charge of such public offices.(4)[ When a person referred to in sub-section (1), during the course of inspection or otherwise, detects from an instrument or copy thereof that the instrument is not duly stamped, such person shall forthwith make a reference to the Collector in the matter.(5)The Collector may, either suo motu or on a reference, call for the original instrument for ascertaining whether it is duly stamped and the instrument so produced shall be deemed to have been produced or come before him in the performance of his functions, and in case the original instrument is not produced within the period specified by the Collector, he may require the payment of the proper duty or the amount required to make up the same together with the penalty under section 40 from the person liable to pay the duty.] [Substituted by Act No. XII of 2011, dated 25th April, 2011.]
