AKASAM SURYA RAO Vs. MANTHENA RAMA RAJU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A question of court-fee is raised by the petitioner who is the plaintiff in this suit.

(2.) The suit was filed for cancellation of a deed of exchange dated 11-11-1953 executed by "the plaintiff and the defendant and for recovery of possession of the A schedule property which is in the hands of the defendant. He is prepared to surrender possession of the B schedule property which he had taken under the aforesaid exchange.

(3.) The deed of exchange mentions on its face the value as Rs. 20,000.00. Obviously what is meant is that the value of each of the two schedules is Rs. 20,000/-. That is conceded by the plaintiff. The suit is pending. At one stage, a commissioner was appointed for valuation of the two schedules and he has reported that the value of the A schedule property which is sought to be recovered from the defendant is Rs. 59,160.00 while the B schedule now in the hands of the plaintiff, has been assigned a value of Rs. 32,180.00. The plaintiff has offered to pay a court-fee ad valorem on the difference in value between the two properties, because he is prepared to surrender the B schedule which is now in his hands and to take the A schedule. But the court declined to accept the difference in value as the criterion and has insisted on the full court-fee being paid on the value of the A schedule property which is claimed from the possession of the defendant. Hence this revision by the plaintiff.