THAKURJI SHRIJI LAXMANJI Vs. SHYAMA DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is plaintiff's appeal against rejection of his plaint under Order VII Rule 11 C.P.C. as the plaint was insuffioientlo stamped.

(2.) PLAINTIFF Thakurji Shriji Laxmanji's devotees Radbey Shyam and other instituted the present suit for a neclaration that the sale -deed dated 16.5.35 in regard to the suit property is ineffectual against the plaintiff and for recovery of its possession. It is alleged that defendants Nos.3 and 4 were the trustees of the temple and the wrongfully alienatad the suit properties in favour of Shrimati Chand Bai through her guardian Ramgopal Agrawal. However Smt. Chandbai was not impleaded as a party to the suit and it is not clear from the plaint why defendants Nos. 1 and 2 were abded as defendants. The suit was valued at Rs. 12000/ - -for the purpose of jurisdiction but a fixed court -fee of Rs. 10/ - -was paid on the ground that the plaintiff was not personally interested in the suit property and it could not be valued. On behalf of the defendants, objection was raised that the plaint was insufficiently stamped and an ad valorem court -fee ought to have been paid according to the market value of the suit property. The learned Senior Civil Judge Jaipur City No 1 framed an issue and after hearing the parties held that ad valorem court -fee ought to have been paid according to the market value of the property which the plaintiff itself had fixed at Rs. 1200/ - 15 days' time was allowed to the plaintiff to make up the deficiency but the plaintiff failed to do so and so the plaint was rejected.

(3.) IN the first case, the subject matter of the suit was a temple and it was held that even as a house it has no market value within the purview of Section 7(v)(e) of the Court -fees Act and the suit for recovery of possession of it for the purpose of managing it and conducting its worship falls under Article 17 (VI) of Schedule 2.