EFU GENERAL INSURANCE LIMITED vs PROVINCE OF THE PUNJAB Ss — 2025 PLD 604 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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EFU GENERAL INSURANCE LIMITED VS PROVINCE OF THE PUNJAB Ss. 2(22a), 33, 35 & Schedule-I, art. 47 (as amended by Punjab Finance act, 2018)---West Pakistan Stamp Inspection and audit Rules, 1949, R.3---Constitution of Pakistan, arts. 138 & 199---Constitutional petition---Public office---Collection of stamp duty---Insurance policies---Petitioners/insurance companies were aggrieved of notices for audit of accounts issued by Chief Inspector of Stamps, Board of Revenue Punjab---Dispute was with regard to deposit of stamp duty on instruments of insurance executed by petitioners/insurance companies---Held: If public functions under art. 138 of the Constitution belong to Provincial Government then such functions can only be delegated to public officers who are departmental officials---Provisions of Stamp act, 1899 concern themselves with collection and impounding of duties of stamp which, in essence, are public functions meant to be performed by public officers---Private bodies and persons included in definition of public office in Stamp act, 1899 may carry out functions which can be described as public but as commercial organizations they cannot be said to possess powers solely in order that they may use them for the public good---Private bodies do not have the same duty that a public body, which is not a commercial undertaking, has---Private body is entitled to look to the interest of its shareholders---This also means that private bodies and persons may become subject to judicial review since their source of power is a statute---Offices to which a reference has been made in appendix II of Stamp act, 1899 do not include the bodies in dispute and not at all the offices of petitioners/insurance companies---Petitioners/insurance companies are not comprised in the list of Courts and offices and other accounts which are subject to stamp audit by a stamp auditor under West Pakistan Stamp Inspection and audit Rules, 1949---Notices issued to petitioners/insurance companies were ultra vires as West Pakistan Stamp Inspection and audit Rules, 1949 did not empower stamp auditor to inspect books and records of petitioners/ insurance companies for audit---Notices for audit were without lawful authority and Chief Inspector of Stamps was denuded of powers to serve such notices on petitioners/insurance companies to compel them to undertake stamp audit by stamp auditor nominated by Collector---High Court declared that definition of public office contained in S. 2(22a) of Stamp act, 1899, to the extent of bodies in dispute was unconstitutional and without lawful authority and were struck out from the definition---High Court gave directions to modify definition of public officer in S. 2(22B) of Stamp act, 1899---Constitutional petition was allowed accordingly. Citation Name: 2025 PLD 604 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHOREBookmark this Case EFU GENERAL INSURANCE LIMITED VS PROVINCE OF THE PUNJAB Ss. 33 & 35---Words "by any public officer" and "acted upon, registered or authenticated…. by any public officer"---Scope---Words "by any public officer" in section 35 of Stamp Act, 1899 are tied in with the forgoing words "acted upon, registered or authenticated…. by any public officer"---These are all public functions conferred by Provincial Government and there is no power in any private person to act upon, register or authenticate an instrument---Such power is inconceivable to vest in a private person nor can he be conferred such a power, for that would be unconstitutional and against the holding of Supreme Court in Mustafa Impex case reported as PLD 2016 SC 808---Functions contemplated by sections 33 and 35 of Stamp Act, 1899 are in essence public functions of a Constitutional nature and the wide scope of definition of 'public office' introduced by Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Act, 1973 would be in contradiction to such functions---Two potentially conflicting strands of the same term are hard to reconcile in the statutory setting of Stamp Act, 1899.

EFU GENERAL INSURANCE LIMITED vs PROVINCE OF THE PUNJAB Ss — 2025 PLD 604 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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