USHMA GUPTA Vs. BHAGWANTO BAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) With great respect, I am unable to agree with the order prepared by my learned brother.

(2.) One Ashok Gupta, who was Asstt. Engineer in Irrigation Department of U.P. Government receiving salary of Rs. 5,400 per month with facilities of quarter, vehicle, servants and phone, died in a motor accident on 10.11.1992. His widow Ushma Gupta and parents filed claim application on 3.1.1994 and claimed compensation of Rs. 35,00,000. The VIII M.A.C.T., Indore awarded compensation of Rs. 26,75,550 vide award dated 25.7.1994. The claimants filed this appeal on 19.10.1995 for enhancement of compensation amount. This appeal was valued at Rs. 35,00,000. The appellants had affixed court-fee stamps of Rs. 9 only.

(3.) My respected brother directed the appellants to affix court-fee on the claim value, i.e., Rs. 35,00,000. In my humble opinion, the appellants cannot be ordered to pay court-fee on the value of the appeal. The appeals preferred against the awards passed in claim cases under Motor Vehicles Act are not covered under Schedule I as the awards passed under Motor Vehicles Act by Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal are not decree or order under Civil Procedure Code, even though, they may be final decisions and may have all the incidents of a decree. The amount of compensation granted by Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal is recoverable as an amount awarded by decree also and the M.A.C.T. have been invested with powers of civil court, but that would not make the award an order having force of law and, therefore, court-fee upon the memorandum of appeal preferred against the award, would be payable under Schedule II, Article 11, Court-Fees Act. It gets further strength from the provisions of Motor Vehicles Rules, 1974 framed by State of Madhya Pradesh under the powers conferred by section 111-A, etc., of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. Rule 278 and rule 298 provided that the application presented to the M.A.C.T. for award of compensation, and memorandum of appeal, filed in High Court shall bear court-fee stamps of the prescribed value and under rule 23, M.P. Motor Vehicles (Payment of Fees) Rules, 1974 made by State Government under powers conferred by section 111-A (new 176) Motor Vehicles Act provided that the application for compensation shall be affixed with court-fee stamps of the value of fifteen rupees. The same provision has been made in rule 222, Motor Vehicles Rules, 1994 made under section 176, Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Rule 242 which pertains to appeal, is silent about the court-fee, payable on memorandum of appeal. The reason is obvious, as Schedule II, Article 11, Court-Fees Act applies to the appeals preferred against the award passed by M.A.C.T., therefore, no separate provision for payment of court-fee has been made in these Rules. Under Schedule II, Article 11 fixed court-fees is payable on the claim application, there cannot be a provision for payment of court-fee on ad valorem basis on the memorandum of appeal as appeal is continuation of suit. This is the reason, why the appeals preferred under section 173, Motor Vehicles Act are registered as misc. appeals and not as first appeals under M.P. High Court Rules.