The plaintiff in the suit was not the executant of the sale deeds - Therefore, the court fee was computable under section 7(iv)(c) of the Act

Citation

CDJ 2010 SC 308

Suhrid singh @ sardool singh vs Randhir Singh and others

Head note

Constitution of India – Article 136 - CIVIL APPEAL Arising out of SLP - Court-fees Act, 1870 - Section 6 & section 7 – Question of court fee - original suit for a declaration - The appellant claims to have paid a court fee of Rs.19.50 for the relief of declaration, Rs.117/- for the relief of joint possession, and Rs.42/- for the relief of permanent injunction, in all Rs.179/-. - The learned Civil Judge heard the appellant-plaintiff on the question of court fee and made an order holding that the prayers relating to the sale deeds amounted to seeking cancellation of the sale deeds and therefore ad valorem court fee was payable on the sale consideration in respect of the sale deeds. - The High Court dismissed the revision petition holding that if a decree is granted as sought by the plaintiff, it would amount to cancellation of the sale deeds and therefore, the order of the trial court did not call for interference – application for review and recalling was also dismissed - Feeling aggrieved, the appellant has filed these appeals by special leave.

Section 7(iv)(c) provides that in suits for a declaratory decree with consequential relief, the court fee shall be computed according to the amount at which the relief sought is valued in the plaint. – Held, there is no prayer for cancellation of the sale deeds. The prayer is for a declaration that the deeds do not bind the "co-parcenery" and for joint possession. The plaintiff in the suit was not the executant of the sale deeds - Therefore, the court fee was computable under section 7(iv)(c) of the Act – Hence, Court accordingly allow these appeals, set aside the orders of the trial court and the High Court directing payment of court fee on the sale consideration under the sale deeds, and direct the trial court to calculate the court fee in accordance with Section 7(iv)(c) read with Section 7(v) of the Act, as indicated above, with reference to the plaint averments.

(Paras, 6, 7, and 8)

Comparative Citations:
2010 (3) MLJ 1344, 2010 (3) SCJ 637, 2010 (2) MWN(Civil) 221, 2010 (3) LW 599, 2010 AIR(SCW) 3308, 2010 AIR(SC) 2807, 2010 (12) SCC 112, 2010 (2) SLT 746, 2010 CutLT(Suppl) 709,