(1.) THIS is an appeal against the order of the Additional District Judge, Rohtak, remanding the case to the trial Court on setting aside the later's judgment rejecting the plaint of the plaintiff -respondent under Section 22 (4) of the Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1913 on the ground that the plaintiff failed to deposit 1/5th of probable value of the suit land within the fixed period. Facts are not complicated and may be stated in narrow compass. A sale of agricultural land made by a registered sale deed dated 1st of July, 1967 for an ostensible consideration of Rs. 9,000/- was sought to be pre-empted by the plaintiff -respondent. A suit was filed on 21st of June 1968 and an order made by the trial Court on 24th of June 1968 in the following terms in the presence of the counsel for the plaintiff :
(2.) SECTION 22 (1) reads as under :
(3.) MR. D. C. Ahluwalia, learned counsel for the respondents, has vehemently urged before me that the Court should have determined probable value and the same could not be held to exceed the sale price as stated in the sale deed. Learned Counsel fails to see that the conduct of the plaintiff was throughout indicative of an attempt to prolong the proceedings in order to gain time and did not show any genuine desire to deposit 1/5th of the value of the suit land. There is no rule of law that the probable value cannot exceed the ostensible sale price as given in the sale deed and it is open to the Court in each case to determine what is really the probable value though any such determination shall not affect a decision consequently made as to the market value of the suit property. The plaintiff as already stated was not prepared to deposit even Rs. 1800/- on or before the 7th of August, 1968 and the trial Court rightly exercised its discretion in refusing to extend time.