Delhi High Court Rules Stamp Duty Cannot Depend On Accidental Location

The <b>Delhi High Court</b> has ruled that the geographical location where the first signature is affixed to an agreement cannot solely determine which State's stamp duty legislation applies. Justice Om Prakash Shukla observed that applying such an interpretation would make stamp duty liability dependent on the accidental location of the first signatory, particularly in multilateral agreements. The Court underscored that the traditional understanding of execution developed for physical instruments cannot be mechanically applied to modern digital transactions. The ruling came while setting aside an interim arbitral award in a dispute involving four loan agreements executed between companies belonging to the Zee Group and Religare Finvest Limited.