HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD WRIT - C No. - 38188 of 2026 Court No. - 38 HON'BLE VINOD DIWAKAR, J. 1. Heard Shri Jamal Ahmad Khan, learned counsel for the petitioners, Shri Siddharth Singh, learned Standing Counsel for the State, and perused the record. 2. The present petition assails the ex-parte order dated 25.08.2026, passed by respondent no.2 in Appeal Case No.1996 of 2026 under Section 56(1) of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, whereby the petitioners' appeal was dismissed on the ground of delay, without adverting to the merits. The said appeal had been preferred against the ex-parte order dated 03.10.2025, passed by respondent no.3 under Section 56 of the Act, assessing and levying a deficiency in stamp duty on the gift deed executed in favour of the petitioners. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that since the gift deed was executed between close relatives, the petitioners were entitled to exemption from stamp duty, a fact not considered by respondent no.3, rendering the assessment order erroneous. It is further submitted that the delay in filing the appeal was neither wilful nor deliberate but occasioned by bona fide reasons, and the appellate authority, by dismissing the appeal solely on the ground of limitation without examining its merits, has deprived the petitioners of an effective remedy. 4. Per contra, learned Standing Counsel for the State submits that no provision existed, at the time the gift deed was executed, exempting it from the levy of stamp duty, and the assessment made by respondent no.3 was accordingly in accordance with law. 5. After hearing learned counsel for the petitioners and upon perusal of the record, this Court finds that the appeal was dismissed by respondent no.2 solely on the ground of delay, without any consideration of the merits. Since a valuable right of appeal has been foreclosed on a technical ground, and since the applicability of exemption is a mixed question of law and fact requiring examination by the competent appellate forum in the first instance, it would be in the interest of justice to afford the petitioners an opportunity Versus Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Jamal Ahmad Khan Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C. Suhail Khan And Another .....Petitioner(s) State Of U.P. And 3 Others .....Respondent(s) to have their appeal heard and decided on merits. 6. 6. Accordingly, the present petition is disposed of with the following directions: (i) The impugned order dated 25.08.2026, passed by respondent no.2, is set aside; (ii) The delay in filing the appeal is condoned; (iii) The respondent no.2 shall decide the appeal afresh, on merits and in accordance with law, after affording due opportunity of hearing to the petitioners, expeditiously, preferably within three months from the date of production of a certified copy of this order. September 23, 2026 Anil K. Sharma WRIC No. 38188 of 2026 2 (Vinod Diwakar,J.) Digitally signed by :- ANIL KUMAR SHARMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad