Sri Lakshmi Balaji Enterprises & Anr. v. Angeethis Restaurant - Stamp Act - Bond - MoU

Indian Stamp Act - Section 2(5)- Bond - An instrument by which a person puts himself under an obligation to pay a sum of money to another on condition that the obligation shall be void if some specific act is, or is not, performed is a bond. The only question to pose is: Has the executant of the instrument put himself under an obligation, or bound himself, to pay a sum of money to another, the obligation to be void under specified circumstances? If the executant can be sued for that sum of money only upon the strength of the instrument, the instrument is a bond- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) -MOU cannot be treated as Bond when it is signed by both the parties and not by one of the parties binding himself to pay the amount and making the said payment subject to fulfillment of some conditions- The contents of the documents would not attract clauses (a) to (c) of Section 2(5) so as to call it a Bond because the obligation to pay the money is not dependent on any condition and that the document is signed by both the parties making it an agreement - An instrument by which a person puts himself under an obligation to pay a sum of money to another on condition that the obligation shall be void if some specific act is, or is not, performed is a bond. The only question to pose is: Has the executant of the instrument put himself under an obligation, or bound himself, to pay a sum of money to another, the obligation to be void under specified circumstances? If the executant can be sued for that sum of money only upon the strength of the instrument, the instrument is a bond.