AMDU Vs. PESSI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE plaintiffs-appellants have filed this appeal on a court-fee stamp of Rs. 38-12. They have paid a court-fee of Rs. 10 for the following declaration which they claim in para. 16 of the plaint: That it be declared that plaintiff 5 is the adopted son of the defendant.

(2.) THE learned advocate for the appellants contended that for the purposes of court-fee payable in this case, the appellants' case come under Schedule 2, Article 17(3) of the Court-fees Act, and therefore a court-fee of Rs. 10 was only payable and has been correctly paid. In this connexion our attention has been drawn to the following rule, contained in Civil Circular II-8, which was framed by the Judicial Commissioner, with the previous sanction of the Chief Commissioner, under Section 9, Suits Valuation Act, 1887: Under Section 9, Suits Valuation Act 1887, and under the same section of the said Act, as applied to Berar, the Judicial Commissioner, with the previous sanction of the Chief Commissioner directs that suits of the following classes shall for the purposes of the Court-fees Act 1870, the Suits Valuation Act 1887, the Central Provinces Court Act 1904, and the Berar Courts Law 1905, be treated as if the subject-matter of such suits were of the value of Rs. 400:

(3.) THIS section empowers this Court in certain classes of suits which in the opinion of this Court do not admit of being satisfactorily valued, to treat them as if their subject-matter were of such value as this Court thinks fit to specify in this behalf. This section excludes a particular class of suits only and this Court has no power to prescribe any particular value for them. This Court could exercise its power in respect of other classes of suits which do not admit of being satisfactorily valued, and has in Civil Circular II-8, prescribed a particular value for three classes of suits, mentioned in Rule 1 of the said circular on the ground that these suits do not admit of being satisfactorily valued. The rule as it stands has the force of law. This, value has been prescribed not only for purposes of jurisdiction but also for the purposes of court-fees. This is clear from these words which appear in Section 9. Suits Valuation Act: for the purposes of the Court Fees Act...be treated as if their subject-matter were of such value, as the High Court thinks fit to specify in this behalf.