RAM KANWAR KIDARMAL Vs. NAURANG RAI KUNDAN LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS suit has been filed for a declaration for cancellation of a lease deed in dispute and as a consequential relief a prayer has been made for an injunction restraining the defendants from interfering with the property under lease. The value for purposes of jurisdiction and court-fee was fixed at Rs. 550/- and court-fee was paid on this amount. The defendants objected to the valuation of the suit. The trial Court held that Section 7 (v), Court-fees Act, 1870 applied to the plaint and the value should be fixed at the market value of the property for the purposes of court-fee and jurisdiction and ordered the plaintiffs to amend the plaint accordingly. The plaintiffs have filed this petition for revision.

(2.) IT is obvious from the plaint that the plaintiff's seek a declaratory relief that the lease deed is inoperative and a consequential relief that the defendants should not interfere with the plaintiffs' rights. Thus the court-fee is to be computed under Section 7 (iv) (c), Court-fees Act. Under this section the plaintiffs have been given the right to value the relief claimed. The Punjab State legislature by the Punjab Court-fees (Punjab Amendment) Act, 1903 (31 of 1953) has added a proviso to this section and this proviso reads:

(3.) FOR these reasons I accept this petition and direct that the plaintiffs should pay court-fee according to the value of lease rights involved in the litigation, amend the plaint to bring it in accordance with this Judgment and also make all other consequential amendments.