THOMAS KATHANAR Vs. KESAVAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision is really against the order of the Munsiff of Vaikom in O S.No. 225 of 1974, dismissing the suit on the ground that the plaintiff had refused to comply with the court's requisition to file a valuation statement showing the market value of the property and that the application for adjournment and for time for filing the said valuation statement, bad been dismissed. The suit was dismissed for default in consequence of the order on the application for adjournment and for time for filing the valuation statement. The order refusing the adjournment and time for filing the valuation statement was passed on I.A. No. 289 of 1975 in O. S. 285 of 1974. The order on the said application and the order of dismissal of the suit were both on one and the same date.

(2.) I regret to observe that the position disclosed is very unsatisfactory and betrays lack of sufficient close attention by the Munsiff to the requirements of the law or to the position on the facts. The suit was for a declaration of title and for injunction. The court seems to have asked the plaintiff to file a valuation statement showing the market-value of the property by its order dated 25-1-1975. The statement bad to be submitted by 31-1-1975. The plaintiff prayed for time which was granted till 5-2-1975. The statement was not filed on 5 -2-1975; but on that day the plaintiff applied for adjournment. His request for adjournment war rejected by the court on the ground that no medical certificate had been filed, that it appeared that the plaintiff wanted to protract the matter and that the presence of the plaintiff was not necessary, as all that was needed was to file the valuation statement. Consequent on the rejection of the application for time for filing the valuation statement, a dismissal of the suit also followed immediately on the same day.

(3.) As I observed, the Munsiff does not seem to have paid attention to the provisions of the Court fees Act, relating to the matters involved S.10 of the Act allows the court to order the filing of a statement of particulars of the subject matter of the suit as disclosed by the plaint. But it is not provided that non compliance will entail a dismissal of the suit. For default to file the valuation statement, the mode of procedure and the consequence are provided by S.12 of the Court fees Act. The relevant portion of the section reads as follows: