The Supreme Court held that while determining the chargeability of the Stamp Duty, the decisive factor is to ascertain the true legal character of the instrument, not the nomenclature assigned to the instrument.

A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra dismissed an appeal filed by a company that attempted to color a mortgage deed like a security bond to attract lesser stamp duty, affirming the higher demand for stamp duty on the deed.

The appellant executed a “Security Bond cum Mortgage Deed” in favour of the Meerut Development Authority (MDA) to secure obligations for colony development, including payment of external development charges and provision of amenities. Under the deed, the appellant mortgaged specified properties to the MDA, empowering it to sell

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