GANESH VINAYAK ATHAVALE Vs. BHAU BABBANA MHAISAIE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revisional application arises under the Bombay Agricultural Debtors Relief Act. The petitioners are creditors and the opponents are debtors, In several applications that were heard by the Civil Judge, Senior Division, being Nos. 3046, 3083, 2188, 4915, 1264 and 576 of 1049 the debts of the opponents were settled under the scheme of the Act and an order with regard to certain transaction was made in favour of the petitioners' father, the creditor. This award was passed on July 6, 1953. Though the creditor paid the Court -fees, the award was sent for registration by the learned Judge concerned much later i.e. on August 22, 1961, and it was registered on August 28, 1961. As the opponents did not pay the amount as per the instalments ordered, the petitioners filed an application to the Court, being Application No. 52 of 1961 for an order for recovery of the amount due through the Collector, The learned trial Judge held that as the award was of 1953 and the application for recovery was made in 1961, two instalments were barred by limitation. He accordingly directed that the papers be sent to the Collector for recovery of the instalments for the years 1956 to 1960.

(2.) THE petitioners filed an appeal to the District 'Court under the provisions of the B.A.D.K. Act read with Section 47 of the Civil Procedure Code. The office apparently raised two objections (1) that the Court -fee stamp paid was not proper and (2) that the appeal itself was not competent. The learned Judge held that Section 47 of the Civil Procedure Code was not applicable and the appeal, therefore, was not competent. On the basis of this conclusion he also held that, the Court -fee stamp paid on the appeal which was equivalent to the stamp paid on the original application for recovery of the amount there was deficit of 36 paise in the stamp. The learned Judge dismissed the appeal as being not maintainable. The petitioner comes to this Court.

(3.) ONCE it is held that Section 47 of the Civil Procedure Code is applicable, evidently on the finding made by the learned Judge, the Court -fee paid is proper. If there were any deficit, we would have given time to the petitioners to make up the deficit.