VIMLESH DEVI Vs. SUB DIVISIONAL OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present revision petition has been filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India challenging order dated 12.04.2018 passed by the learned Civil Judge (Jr. Division), Hodal (Annexure P-1) vide which application under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC moved by the respondent-defendants for directing the petitioner-plaintiffs to pay ad valorem court fee of Rs.1,00,000/- was allowed.

(2.) Brief facts of the case leading to the filing of the instant revision petition are that the petitioner-plaintiffs had filed a suit for damages on account of death of their husband/father respectively seeking compensation to the tune of Rs.1 crore by affixing court fee of Rs.3675/- by considering the value of the suit as Rs.75,000/-. An application was moved under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC by the respondent-defendants for rejection of the plaint by stating that the suit had been filed by the petitioner-plaintiffs seeking damages to the tune of Rs.1 crore on account of death of Subhash Chand, therefore, they were required to pay ad valorem court fee on Rs.1 crore but they had wrongly assessed the valuation as Rs.75,000/- and paid an amount of Rs.3675/- whereas they should have paid court fee on Rs.1 crore. Learned Civil Judge (Jr. Division), Hodal vide order dated 12.4.2018 allowed the application by holding that the petitioner-plaintiffs had claimed liquidated damages i.e certain amount of Rs.1 crore from the defendants therefore, court fee should be affixed on the claimed amount of Rs.1 crore and merely by stating that the plaintiffs would pay ad valorem court fee after the decree was passed was untenable because a party to the suit could not seek a conditional decree, besides no undertaking had been filed at the time of filing of the suit.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner by relying upon the decision of this Court in Manpreet Singh versus Gurmail Singh and others and Gurmail Singh and others versus Manpreet Singh and others, 2016 183 PunLR 751 as also Subhash Chander Goel vs. Harvind Sagar, 2003 AIR(P&H) 248 contends that in a suit claiming damages, the plaintiff cannot be asked to pay ad valorem court fee as the claim is tentative and the plaintiff is to be allowed to affix court fee on the final adjudication of the case.