My client has submitted "Agreement of Sale" of Dt. 04.04.1979 to the office of 'The Collector of Stamps' for the purposes of Adjudication on Dt. 18.11.2017. The office has not sent the demand notice as of date which is ultravires the provisions of Maharashtra Stamp Act, which clearly mandates maximum of 45 days for closing the case. When pressed for an explanation, the office has reverted back saying that they have forwarded my client's Agreement to Forensic Lab for conducting tests in order to verify the authenticity of the Agreement.
My query is :
1] Whether the Collect of Stamps has any right / authority / power to arbitrarily send documents of the Citizens such as 'Agreement for Sale' for Forensic Reports without any grounds whatsoever ?
2] Usually, Forensic reports are taken out on orders / directions of competent Courts. Can the Collector of Stamps, Mumbai carry out forensic tests on its own motion without any directions / orders of any competent court of law ?
3] If yes, then under which law is the Collector of Stamps empowered to take such actions ? If no, then what is the legal remedy for the same ?
Warm Regards
