DEVENDAR KUMAR BHARTI Vs. MAHANTA RAGHURAJ BHARTI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revision has been filed under Section 115. Civil P. C. , by one of the defendants Devendra kumar Bharti against an order passed by the learned Civil Judge of Basti granting time to the opposite party No. 1 upto 15-3-1947, for payment of the necessary court-fees. Opposite party no. 1 filed an application under Order 33 of Civil P. C. , (Act 5 of 1908) for permission to institute the suit in forma pauperis. Notice of this application was issued to the other side and after recording the evidence of the parties, the court came to the conclusion that the plantiff was not a pauper and was in a position to pay the requisite court-fee. While rejecting the application, the court granted time to the Opposite party No. 1 to pay the court-fee. It was urged that this the court could not do. The order against which this revision application has been filed reads as follows:

(2.) THIS case came up before a Division Bench of this Court and in view of the decision of a Pull bench of this Court in -- 'chunna Mal v. Bhagwant Kishore1, AIR 1936 All 584 (A) which, the learned Judges thought, needed reconsideration the case was referred to a larger Bench. In -' chunna Mal's Case (A)', in the majority judgment of Sulaiman, C. J. and Bennet, J. it was held that the Court could not grant time while dismissing the application for leave to sue in forma pauperis. The decision of the Privy Council in -- 'stuart Skinner v. William Orde', 2 All 241 (B)was distinguished on the ground that in that case before an order had been made dismissing the application for leave to sue in forma pauperis the plaintiff had paid the court-fee. It Was suggested in -- 'chunna Mal's case (FB) (A)', that, if the Court wished to grant time to pay the court-fees, it should keep the application for leave to sue in forma pauperis pending till the court-fees are paid. It was, however, held unanimously that after the application for leave to file the suit in forma pauperis was dismissed, the Court could not by an order of a subsequent date grant time under Section 149 of the Code to pay the court-fees.

(3.) THE point that has arisen for consideration is whether when a court is of the opinion that an application for permission to sue in forma pauperis should be rejected, it can at the time of rejecting the application grant time to the applicant to pay the court-fees.