Allahabad High Court
Idea Mobile Communications Ltd. ... vs State Of U.P. & Others on 1 March, 2013
Author: Pankaj Mithal
Bench: Pankaj Mithal
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Court No. - 10 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 36273 of 2006 Petitioner :- Idea Mobile Communications Ltd. Mathura Road, New Delhi Respondent :- State Of U.P. & Others Petitioner Counsel :- Alok Mishra,K.N. Mishra Respondent Counsel :- C.S.C. Connected with: Writs - C No.36276 of 2006, 36279 of 2006, 36281 of 2006, 36283 of 2006, 36286 of 2006, 15045 of 2007, 66449 of 2008, 32969 of 2012, 39859 of 2012, 39862 of 2012, 39870 of 2012, 39873 of 2012, 39876 of 2012, 39879 of 2012, 39881 of 2012, 39882 of 2012, 39897 of 2012 and 66792 of 2012. Hon'ble Pankaj Mithal,J.
Sri Alok Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioners in this bunch of writ petitions and Sri Nimai Das, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents have fairly accepted that the controversy involved in these petitions is squarely covered by the decision of this Court in Vodafone Essar Mobile Services Ltd. Vs. State of U.P. and others reported in 2011 (8) ADJ 703 and, as such, all these writ petitions be disposed of in terms of the said judgment.
His Lordship of this Court in the above decision, making a distinction between a lease and a license in view of the decisions of the Supreme Court, held that an instrument may be a lease within the meaning of Section 2(16) of the Indian Stamp Act, even though it may not answer the description of the lease as contained in Section 105 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and that the instruments granting rights to the petitioners who are engaged in telecommunication services to erect telecommunication towers, install antennas over it and provide generator with fabricated shed shall be a lease chargeable to stamp duty accordingly.
The Court, however, in holding the aforesaid and deciding the writ petitions reduced the penalty imposed by the authorities to 25% of the deficiency in stamp duty determined and by maintaining the penalty where it was less than 25% of the deficient amount.
In view of the above, all these writ petitions are disposed of in terms of the judgment and order of this Court in Vodafone Essar Mobile Services Ltd. (supra) with the reduction in penalty to the tune of 25% of the deficiency determined in the stamp duty and maintaining the penalty in cases where the penalty imposed is less than 25% of the deficiency determined in the stamp duty.
The writ petitions are disposed of as above.
Order Date :- 1.3.2013 brizesh