SAHARA INDIA AIRLINES LIMITED Vs. R A SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against an order dated 14th May, 1996 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court granting exemption to the plaintiffs from paying Court fee and directing that in case the plaintiffs succeed in the suit they will pay Court fee from the decretal amount. This order was reiterated by the same learned Single Judge on 6th February, 1997 observing that it merely postponed the date for making good the deficiency of Court fee. It was further observed that the payment of Court fee is amatter between the State and the litigant and the defendant cannot have any valid grievance on account of non-payment of Court fee by the plaintiff.

(2.) Beiefly the facts are that the plaintiffs in the suit (respondents herein) are the parents of a youngman named Pramod Singh who was employed as a pilot with the defendant in the suit, i.e., the appellants is this appeal (hereinafter the parties will be referred to as plaintiffs and defendants as in the original suit). Pramod Singh,son of the plaintiffs was put on a training flight on 8 th March,1994 alongwith two other pilots. During the course of the training flight the aircraft allegedly went out of control and crashed. Pramod Singh, received fatal injuries in the incident. The other two trainee pilots as well as the instructor also died in the said accident. There were some other casualties also. The plaintiffs filed the present suit for recovery of Rs. 82,32,800.00 against the defendant on account of the sad death of their son Pramod Singh. As per the provisions of Court Fees Act and the Schedule appended thereto as applicable to Delhi, the requisite Court fee on the plaint,according to the plaintiffs worked out to Rs.83,795.32p. The plaintiffs stated in the plaint that they did not have sufficient funds to deposit the Court fee and they deposited a sum of Rs. 21,864.80p. only towards Court fee on the plaint and filed an application for exemption from payment of Court fee. The application which was filed alongwith the plaint for this purpose was registered as I.A. No. 3251 /96. The application purports to be under Section 94 read with Section 151, Code of Civil Procedure. In the application the plaintiffs admitted receipt of a 'small sunn' towards interim relief from the defendant. The plaintiffs further stated in the said application that they have no source of income to enable them to pay the entire amount payable as Court fee. In Para 6 of the application the plaintiffs stated that on account of lack of means to pay the requisite Court fee, the plaintiffs had affixed Court fee of Rs. 21,865.00 on the plaint. They repeated that they do not have the means to pay the balance Court fee of Rs. 61,931.00 on the plaint. Accordingly the plaintiffs prayed that the Court be pleased to:

(3.) The order impugned in the present appeal was passed by the learned Single Judge on 14th May, 1996. The plaintiffs were excepted from paying the balance amount of Court fee subject, however, to the direction that in the event of their success in the suit, they would pay the requisite Court fee from the decretal amount.