R GANGA Vs. S ROYAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant herein filed this appeal against the order of the Subordinate Judge, Villupuram, dated 31.3.1997 in O.P.No.23 of 1995, wherein the appellant/petitioner sought permission to file the suit as an indigent person. The lower court has dismissed the petition and aggrieved by the same the present appeal.

(2.) The contention of the counsel for the appellant is that the petitioner has averred in the plaint that she has no means to pay the court fees and except the 'A' Schedule properties mentioned in the plaint, the appellant do not possess any other property. In her evidence in the cross-examination she has stated that her family members gave forty sovereigns of jewels, out of which seven sovereigns of jewels are with the respondent and in the plaint a prayer for recovery of the same is sought for. If this is to be taken into consideration, deducting the 7 sovereigns which is with the respondent herein, the remaining 33 sovereigns of jewels are available with the appellant herein and the lower court has mainly relied upon this statement of the appellant and dismissed the O.P. I also see no ground to differ from the order of the lower court since admittedly the appellant was given 40 sovereigns of jewels and set of which only seven sovereigns are with the respondent. So the remaining Jewelleries are available with the appellant which is more than sufficient to pay the court fees and hence the appellant can safely be said to have sufficient means to pay the court-fees. Learned counsel for the appellant further contended that for the payment of court-fees the jewels need not be sold. When a litigation is possessed of sufficient means or possessed of sufficient property to raise the necessary funds to pay the court-fees than he cannot be said to be a person who can be permitted to sue as an indigent person. When the appellant has got sufficient means of movable properties from which funds can be raised to pay the court-fees, she cannot be permitted to file the suit as indigent person. I see no ground to differ from the finding of the trial court.

(3.) Though the trial court has made on observation that the parents of the appellant are possessed of sufficient means that may not weigh in the mind of the lower court to reject the claim of the appellant. The court below has proceeded only on the basis that the appellant has got the jewels roughly about 29 1/2 sovereigns from out of which, the funds can be raised. For the reasons stated above, there is no merit in the appeal. The appeal is dismissed. The appellant is granted three months time to pay the court-fees. Consequently, the civil miscellaneous petition is also dismissed.