VENKATACHELLAM PILLAI Vs. PVSRINIVASA AIYAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question to be determined in this civil revision petition is whether the District Munsif's Court had jurisdiction to decide the suit. The first defendant pleaded that the Court had no jurisdiction. The District Munsif overruled the plea.

(2.) The suit was instituted for the setting aside of an award passed by defendants Nos. 2 to 6 to whom the plaintiff and the first defendant referred certain matters in dispute between them. By the award, the plaintiff was directed to pay to the first defendant the sum of Rs. 11,070 with interest thereupon. The contention of the first defendant is that the value of the subject-matter of the suit is the amount mentioned in the award and that the District Munsif had consequently no jurisdiction to try the suit.

(3.) For the purpose of the Court-fee payable, it is conceded by the plaintiff that the suit is governed by the Court-Fees Act, Schedule II, Art. 17, Clause (4). Under that provision a fixed fee of Rs. 15 is payable on a plaint in a suit to set aside an award. As was pointed out in Phul Kumari V/s. Ghanshayam Misra 35 C. 202 : 7 C.L.J. 36 : 12 C.W.N. 169 : 10 Bom. L.R. 1 : 5 A.L.J. 10 : 17 M.L.J. 618 : 2 M.L.T. 506 : 14 Bur. L.R. 41 : 35 I.A. 22 (P.C.) the award to be set aside may be of value of Rs. 10 or of value or Rs. 1,00,000; and yet no distinction is made. In short, the Statute, for good reasons or bad, has dealt with certain actions irrespective of value." But it is equally clear that it is only for the purposes of Court-fees, there is to be no reference to value. It is to an altogether different enactment that we must turn to find out if the suit falls within the jurisdiction of the District Munsif's Court. Section 12 of the Madras Civil Courts Act, III of 1873, provides that the jurisdiction of a District Munsif extends to all original suits and proceedings of a civil nature of which the amount or value of the subject-matter does not exceed Rs. 2,500. The short question to be decided is, does the subject matter of the suit exceed in value Rs. 2,500? In my opinion, the question does not admit of any doubt, and the answer is clearly that the value of the subject-matter is the amount awarded by the arbitrators to the first defendant. The plaintiff seeks to set aside an award which directs payment by him of a sum over Rs. 11,000. He is affected by the award to that extent, and, similarly, if the award subsists, the first defendant will be entitled to that sum. If the award is set aside that sum represents the measure of the first defendant's interest affected. The expression "the amount or the value of the subject-matter" in Section 12 must receive its ordinary significance and I fail to see how in a suit to set aside an award the value of the subject-matter can be fixed with reference to any other consideration.