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The learned Single Judge answered the aforesaid contention in paragraph 72 of his judgment as under :

"The learned counsel for the respondents also contended that Award falls under Schedule I Article 12 of the Stamp Act and the allocation of properties owned by partnership firm on dissolution to the erstwhile partners is not partition of immoveable properties. In this connection, learned counsel for the respondents placed reliance in the decision reported in AIR 1959 Andhra Pradesh P.380 (FB) which decision has been confirmed in AIR 1966 SC 1300 = 1966 (2) MLJ 60 SC. Addanki Narayanappa V. Bhaskara Kiishnappa. It was submitted by the learned counsel for the respondents that the contentions with regard to stamp and registration put forward by the petitioner cannot be accepted. It is to be pointed out that the Award has been submitted for registration long ago on 27-10.1984 itself and it is stamped and if there is any deficiency, the Registering Authority could direct proper stamp to be affixed and therefore I feel there could be no impediment for the Award being made a rule of the Court and a decree being passed in terms of the Award as contended by the learned counsel for the respondents."

The submission made in this behalf before the Courts below was that the award involved a partition of immoveable properties as a consequence of dissolution of the firms and since the value of the immoveable properties which are the subject matter of the award indisputably exceed the value of Rs. 100, the award was compulsorily registrable in view of the mandatory nature of the language of Section 17(1) which uses the expression 'shall be registered'. On the mandatory character of the provision there is no dispute. The question which requires determination is whether on the dissolution of the partnership the distribution of the assets of the firm comprising both moveable and immoveable properties after meating its obligations on settlement of accounts amongst the partners of the firm in proportion to their respective shares amounts to a partition of immoveable properties or a relinquishment or extinguishment of a share in immoveable property requiring registration under Section 17 of the Registration Act if the allocation includes immoveable property of the value of Rs. 100 and above? In other words the question to the considered is whether the interest of a partner in partnership assets is to be treated as moveable property or both moveable and immoveable depending on the character of the property for the purposes of Section 17 of the Registration Act? This question has been the subject matter of decision in a few cases. In Addanki Narayanappa & Anr. v. Bhaskara Krishtappa & 13 Ors., [1966] 3 SCR 400 the members of two Joint Hindu families, the Addanki family and the Bhaskara family, had entered into partnership for carrying on business of hulling rice, etc.; each family having half share in that business. The capital of the partnership comprised, among other things, certain lands belonging to the two families. The firm acquired more lands in the course of business. Differences arose whereupon two members of the Addanki family filed a suit for dissolution of the partnership and accounts. All the members of the two families were made parties to the suit either as plaintiffs or as defendants. The Bhaskara family contended in defence that the partnership was dissolved in 1936 and accounts were settled between the two families under a karar executed in favour of Bhaskara Gurappa Setty, the karta of the Bhaskara family, by five members of the Addanki family representing that family. The defendants, therefore, contended that the plaintiffs had no cause of action and the suit for dissolution of partnership and accounts was not maintainable. The relevant part of the agreement Karar reads as under :

Ex-facie this document disclosed that the partnership business had come to a halt and the Addanki family had given up their share in the machine, etc., in the business and had made it over to the Bhaskara family. It also recites that the Addanki family had already received certain properties purchased by the partnership as its share in the partnership assets. The submission was that since the partnership assets included immovable property and the document recorded relinquishment by the members of the Addanki family of their interest therein which exceeded Rs. 100 in value, the document required registration under Section 17(1) (c) of the Registation Act. After referring to the provisions of law, treatise and the case law, both of English and Indian Courts, this Court reproduced the following passage from the decision in Ajudhia Pershad Ram Pershad v. Sham Sunder, AIR 1947 Lahore 13 with approval:

In Commissioner of Income-Tax, West Bengal, Calcutta v. Juggilal Kamalapat, [1967] 1 SCR 784 = AIR 1967 SC 401 the facts were that three brothers and one J. entered into a partnership business. The firm owned both moveable and immoveable properties. Sometime thereafter the three brothers created a Trust with themselves as the first three trustees and simultaneously executed a deed of relinquishment relinquishing their rights in and claims to all the properties and assets of the firm in favour of J and of themselves in the capacity of trustees. Thereafter a new partnership firm was constituted between J and the Trust with specified shares. The Trust brought a sum of Rs. 50,000 as its capital in the new firm. The new firm applied for registration under Section 26-A of the Income Tax Act, 1922 but the application was rejected by the authorities. The Tribunal held that the deed of relinquishment being unregistered could not legally transfer the rights and the title to the immoveable properties owned by the original firm to the Trust. Since the immoveable properties were not separable from the other business assets it held that there was no legal transfer of any portion of the business assets of the original firm in favour of the Trust. A reference was made to the High Court on the question whether the new partnership legally came into existence and as such should be registered under Section 26-A. The High Court held that there was no impediment to its registration. The matter was brought in appeal before this Court. This Court pointed out that the deed of relinquishment was in respect of individual interests of the three brothers in the assets of the partnership firm in favour of the Trust and consequently, did not require registration, even though the assets of the partnership included immoveable property. In taking this view reliance was placed on the decision, Ajudhia Pershad's case (supra) as well as the decision of this Court in Addanki Narayanappa & Anr. (Supra). Again in CIT Madhya Pradesh v. Dawas Cine Corporation, [1968] 2 SCR 173 = AIR 1968 SC 676 the partnership firm was dissolved and on dissolution it was agreed between the partners that the theaters should be returned to their original owners who had brought them into the books of the partnership as its assets. In the books of accounts of the partnership the assets were shown as taken over on October