Stamp Duty Exemption for Muslims: How India Treats Hindus Like Second Class Citizens

 Stamp Duty Exemption for Muslims: How India Treats Hindus Like Second Class Citizens

1. Indian law openly discriminates against Hindus in property matters. Hindus / non-Muslims must register gift deeds plus pay hefty stamp duty up to 7% of the property value. 2. Muslims can gift immovable property via oral Hiba — no registration, no stamp duty required. No cost, no paperwork hassle. 3. This is unequal treatment baked into secular India's framework. Pure textbook appeasement. 4. Section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act makes registration compulsory for gifts by non-Muslims. Stamp Acts add the financial burden. 5. At the same time, Section 129 of the Transfer of Property Act explicitly exempts Muslims. Mohammedan law on gifts (Hiba) overrides general rules. 6. Supreme Court (Hafeeza Bibi vs Sk. Farid, 2011) confirmed that Oral Hiba is valid if declaration + acceptance + possession delivery. No writing or registration is needed. 7. Even if Muslims write a Hibanama (memorandum of oral gift), courts often hold no registration/stamp duty mandatory for pure oral Hiba. 8. But Non-Muslims enjoy zero exemption. Pay up or the gift fails legally. 9. Same country, different rules based purely on religion. How is this not discrimination under Article 14? 10. On March 12, 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition by Hari Shankar Jain challenging this law, and asked him to approach the Law Commission or Parliament. 11. So the status quo continues. There is no fix in sight to a problem embedded in India's Constitution. It is now Parliament's problem, and you need a big majority to change it. Meanwhile, Hindus keep paying while Muslims enjoy exemption. 12. This is 21st century jazia - imposed not by Aurangzeb but India's own secular Hindus. Will we ever get a Uniform Civil Code? Or will religious vote banks keep this discrimination alive forever?