BHAGWANTI DEVI Vs. DEVI RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiffs claimed a declaration of title to the agricultural holdings assessed to land revenue shortly hereinafter referred to as suit land. The plaintiffs have valued the suit land In these terms : - That the market value of the land in dispute for the purpose of jurisdiction is Rs 2,50,000 therefore, this Honble Court has jurisdiction to try and hear this suit. That the value of the suit for the purpose of payment of Court -fees for declaratory suit is affixed Rs. 190 on which appropriate Court -fee is paid."

(2.) The Registry raised an objection about the valuation saying that a decree of declaration simplicitor has been prayed for without seeking consequential relief and simultaneously directed the plaintiffs to give clarification on the question of payment of Court -fee and the form of the suit. Instead the plaintiff moved an application for amendment of the plaint under Order 6, Rule 17, C. P. C. seeking the addition of a Khasra number without changing the area of the suit land on the ground that it had inadvertently been omitted to be written in the plaint. On the failure of the plaintiff to clarify the objection, this matter was put up before the Court.

(3.) Learned Counsel for the plaintiffs contended that the suit is governed for the purposes of jurisdiction by section 7 (iv) of the Court Fees Act read with section 9 of the Suits Valuation Act According to him the plaintiff has the absolute right to put on the plaint any value and the Court has no jurisdiction to examine it. Reliance has been placed on the decisions in Haribandhu Mohanty v. Harekrishna Behera and others AIR 1957 Ori 280 and Leela Dhundiraj Divekar v. E. C Shinde Sub -Registrar and another, AIR 1970 Bom 109.