GODALA RAMAIAH Vs. B. SEETHARAMA REDDY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE 5th respondent in the writ petition is seeking to file this writ appeal against the order allowing the writ petition W.P. No. 8930/82 filed by the 1st respondent herein. As the court fee prescribed has not been paid on the memorandum of grounds of appeal, the office returned the papers for payment of the requisite court fee. The learned counsel for the appellant represented the appeal papers stating that the appellant belongs to Yerukula community which is a scheduled tribe and, therefore he is entitled to remission of court fee in accordance with the provisions of the order of the Government in G.O.Ms. No. 381 dated 20 -3 -68. The Office has posted the matter before the Court for orders. Under schedule II Article 11(s) of the Andhra Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act (herein after called the "the Act"), the court fee payable on petitions filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for writs other than the writ of habeas corpus is one hundred rupees. The same court fee is also payable in writ appeals against the final orders in the writ petitions.

(2.) UNDER section 68 of the Act, the State Government may, by notification in the Andhra Gazette, reduce or remit, in the whole or in any part of the territory of this State, all or any of the fees chargeable under this Act, and may, in like manner, cancel or vary such notification. In exercise of the said power the Government issued the following notification in G.O.Ms. No. 381 dated 20 -3 -1968: - -

(3.) THE contentions of the learned counsel for the appellants is, that the expression 'civil suit' means "the civil proceeding" and a writ petition being a civil proceeding, the notification governs also writ petitions or the appeals preferred against orders in writ petitions. In support of this contention the learned counsel relies upon the decision of the Supreme Court in Ramesh v. Gendalal : A.I.R. 1966 S.C. 1445 where the Lordships of Supreme Court held that a proceeding under Article 226 is a Civil proceeding. Sri A. Venkata Ramana the learned Government Pleader does not also dispute this proposition that a petition under Article 228 is a civil proceeding. But he contends that a writ petition cannot be equated to a civil suit. Now, under section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Courts have jurisdiction to try all suits of civil nature except suits of which their cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred. Order 2 Rule 1 provides that every suit shall as far as practicable be framed so as to afford ground for final decision upon the subjects in dispute and to prevent further litigation concerning them.