PRAFULLA GOVINDA BARUAH Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two writ petitions are preferred by the petitioners under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the constitutional validity of Article 11 of Schedule 1 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 (Assam Amendment) brought into effect by the Assam Court Fees (Amendment) Act, 1950 in respect of levy of Court fee for grant of probate or letter of administration at the rate of 7% ad valorem where the value of properties exceeds Rs.5,00,000.00 without there being any upper limit fixed.

(2.) Since both the writ petitions question validity of above referred provisions of law, the facts of the writ petition, WP(C) No.2919/2018 are taken into consideration for the sake of convenience.

(3.) On 17/5/2010, late Tulsi Govinda Barua, brother of the petitioner in WP(C) No.2919/2018, who expired on 17/11/2012, executed his last Will and Testament, and the petitioner, being named as the Executor in the Will, applied for grant of probate before the learned District Judge, Kamrup, Guwahati. Vide order dtd. 18/11/2013, the learned District Judge, Kamrup, Guwahati granted probate of the last Will subject to the payment of due Court fees on the present value of the property likely to come in the hands of the beneficiaries. As per the valuation of the properties involve, the same came around Rs.3.00 Crores and the Court fees on the said value is required to be paid which is more than Rs.28.00 Lakhs.