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Section 34: Sale of stamps

Court Fees Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1870
Section 33 All 36 Sections Schedules I & II Section 35

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 34

Section 34 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 regulates the sale of court fee stamps, authorizing the appropriate Government to frame rules regarding licensed stamp vendors and prescribing criminal penalties for unauthorized sales or overcharging.

  • Licensed Stamp Vendors: The appropriate Government may make rules for regulating the sale of stamps to be used under this Act, the persons by whom alone such sale is to be conducted, and their duties and fees.
  • Criminal Penalties for Vendor Misconduct: Any person appointed to sell stamps who commits a breach of any rule, or any unlicensed person who sells stamps, or any vendor who overcharges, is punishable with imprisonment up to six months or fine up to five hundred rupees.
  • Litigant Protection: Ensures that judicial stamps are sold strictly at printed face value without predatory markups.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • State of Gujarat v. Babulal, 1981 Cri LJ 1752: The High Court affirmed that stamp vendors are public licensees bound to adhere strictly to statutory pricing rules under Section 34; black-marketing of court fees is a penal offence.
  • Collector of Malabar v. Erimmal Ebrahim Hajee, AIR 1957 SC 688: Discussed the statutory oversight of revenue stamp licenses.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

If a local stamp vendor refuses to sell court fee stamps at face value or demands illicit commissions, lodge a formal complaint with the District Collector and Taxing Officer under Section 34.

Section 33 All 36 Sections Schedules I & II Section 35