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The bench directed that the absolute ownership of the flat would vest in the name of wife and she would not claim any amount towards alimony or any other amount from the petitioner-husband
The Supreme Court has held that a wife is not required to pay stamp duty for registering a flat in her name if the property is transferred to her by the husband as part of a divorce decree.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta clarified that since the flat was part of the mutual settlement between the parties during divorce proceedings, the exemption provided under Section 17(2)(vi) of the Registration Act, 1908 would apply. This provision excludes such transfers—made under a court order or decree—from the requirement of stamp duty.
"Manifestly, the flat-in-question is the subject matter of the compromise and as a consequence, it forms part of the proceedings before this court", the bench said, adding that the registration of the flat in the wife’s name would be exempt from stamp duty.
The court was dealing with a matter related to permanent alimony and considered whether the exclusive title of the flat could be transferred to the wife without imposing stamp duty. It referred to its earlier judgment in Mukesh v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr (2024), which held that court-ordered compromises involving the same immovable property under dispute are exempt from registration fees, except when unrelated properties are included in the compromise.
In the present case, the bench allowed the application under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve the marriage by mutual consent. It directed the Sub-Registrar concerned to register the flat solely in the respondent-wife’s name and clarified that the petitioner-husband would hold no further rights or claims over the property.
The matter stemmed from a transfer petition filed by the husband seeking to shift a divorce petition filed by the wife from the Family Court in Bandra, Mumbai, to a court of competent jurisdiction in Delhi. The parties were subsequently referred to mediation, after which both filed separate applications under Article 142 for dissolution of marriage.
The main issue of contention was a jointly-owned flat in Kalyan, measuring 39.76 square meters. Though both parties initially contested the source of funds for acquiring the property, the husband ultimately agreed to relinquish his rights in the flat. The wife, in turn, consented to divorce by mutual agreement without seeking any alimony.
Observing that both parties were highly qualified and well-established, the court directed that absolute ownership of the flat should vest in the wife alone, free from any encumbrances. It also recorded that the wife would not claim any amount towards alimony or other dues from the husband, and ordered that the final decree be drawn accordingly.
Case Title: Arun Rameshchand Arya Vs Parul Singh
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