GURUDATTA HOUSING SOCIETY Vs. MARUTI BALI KOKATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS First Appeal was dismissed summarily at the admission stage on August 10, 1979. The appeal is directed against the judgment of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, Osmanabad, in Land Acquisition Reference No. 19 of 1975 under Section 30 of the Land Acquisition Act, hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'. The reference was necessitated due to the inability of the Land Acquisition Officer to decide as to who, between the claimants, was the owner of the land acquired. The learned Judge rejected the appellant's claim and upheld Maruti Kokate's claim to be the owner of the land and as such entitled to receive the compensation. The appellant valued his claim in appeal at Rs. 300 and paid Court -fees thereon accordingly presumably under Clause (1) of Article 23 of Schedule II of the Bombay Court -fees Act, 1959, hereinafter referred to as 'the Court -fees Act'. The office claims ad valorem court -fees under Article 1 of Schedule I read with Section 1(1) of the Court -fees Act on the amount of compensation denied to him under the impugned judgment, as if it were an appeal under Section 54 of the Act. The appeal is placed for orders on this office objection.

(2.) MR . Solshe, the learned advocate appearing for the appellant, contends that the dispute in such reference proceedings is analogous to declaratory prayers unaccompanied by any consequential relief. Nature of proceedings remains the same in appeal. The subject -matter therein being incapable of estimate in money value, court -fee is payable on the artificial valuation of Rs. 300 as under Clause (1) of Article 23 of Schedule II. He relies on the judgment of the Rajasthan High Court in the case of H. Martin De Silva v. Martin De Silva .

(3.) SECTION 1(1) of the Court -fees Act reads as follows: (1) The amount of fee payable under this Act on a memorandum of appeal against an order relating to compensation under any Act for the time being in force for the acquisition of land for public purposes shall be computed according to the difference between the amount awarded and the amount claimed by the Appellant.