C P PAUL Vs. C P SUSAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An application for probate under S.276 of the Indian Succession Act was filed before the High Court. The application was filed in the High Court in view of S.273, 276 and 300 of the Act on the ground that the portion of the assets likely to come into the hands of the petitioner situate outside the State exceeded Rs. 10000. The application for probate was opposed and hence was treated as a contentious proceeding in terms of S.295 read with R.26 of the Rules framed by the High Court of Kerala. The petition filed was numbered as a suit. The suit was tried and disposed of by a learned Single Judge of this Court exercising original jurisdiction. The learned single Judge after trial held that the due and valid execution of the will propounded by the plaintiff has not been established. The learned single Judge thus dismissed the suit. Feeling aggrieved by the dismissal, the plaintiff filed this appeal under S.5 of the High Court Act. According to the appellant, the judgment rendered by the learned single Judge in exercise of his original jurisdiction falls within S.5(i) of the High Court Act and was appealable. In the light of the decision rendered by this Court in Fr. V.M. Skaria v. K. T. George ( 1999 (2) KLT 527 = 1999 (1) KLJ 756 ) the appeal was described as a Miscellaneous First Appeal on the basis that what was rendered by the learned single Judge was an order under the Indian Succession Act.

(2.) The appellant paid court fee on the appeal under Sch. II Art.3(iii)(A)(2)(c) of the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act and paid a court fee of Rs. 100. The Registry raised an objection that since the appeal was one challenging an order passed under the Indian Succession Act, court fee was payable on the appeal under Sch. I Art.4 of the Court Fees Act. The appellant took the stand that since the application for probate was tried and disposed of by a learned single Judge of the High Court, S.299 of the Indian Succession Act providing for appeals against decisions of District Court in such an application did not apply and since the appeal was only one under S.5 of the High Court Act, court fee was payable only under Sch. II Art.3(iii)(A) of the Court Fees Act The Registry not having accepted this position, the appeal has been sent up for orders regarding the court fee payable on the appeal.

(3.) There cannot be much doubt that an appeal under S.5 of the High Court Act would lie to a Division Bench from the decision rendered by the learned Single Judge, whether one were to treat the decision rendered as a judgment or order. If authority were needed for this position, the same could be found in the decisions of the Allahabad High Court in Standard Glass Beads Factory v. Shri Dhar (AIR 1960 All 692 (FB) and R.C. Powell v. Administrator General (AIR 1967 All. 231).