SAH RAMCHAND Vs. PANNA LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal from the decree dated 17 February 1926 passed by the learned District Judge, Agra, purporting to dismiss the plaintiff-appellant's appeal before him for nonpayment of Court-fee within a time granted for deficiency therein being made good.

(2.) The plaintiff-appellant brought the suit out of which the present appeal has arisen for redemption of a mortgage without payment of amount, or in the alternative on payment of Rs. 3,661. The Court of first instance decreed the claim on payment of Rs. 27,000 within the usual period of grace. The plaintiff appealed to the District Judge of Agra valuing his appeal at Rs. 3,203-10-0. By an order, dated 7 January 1926, the learned District Judge ruled that the Court-fee payable on appeal should be calculated on Rs. 27,000, which was held to be the value of the appeal before him. Three weeks time was allowed to the plaintiff to make good the deficiency. An extension of two weeks was allowed subsequently. Before the expiry of the period within which deficiency in the Court-fee should have been made good an application was presented on behalf of the plaintiff- appellant on 9 February 1926 which declared that out of Rs. 27,000 found to be due on the mortgage, the plaintiff withdrew his contest to the extent of Rs. 12,894, leaving Rs. 14,106 to which the appeal was confined. The Court-fee on this sum amounted to Rs. 610 of which Rs. 165 had already been paid and Court- fee stamps of the value of the remaining Rs. 445 were put in. The application prayed: that the valuation of the appeal is fixed at Rs. 14,106, and notice be now issued to the opposite party.

(3.) The learned District Judge did not give effect to the prayer contained in the application already referred to and dismissed the appeal by an order which runs thus: I do not see any reason to revise the order of the 7 January 1926 and the reasons given appear unsound. As the period allowed for depositing the extra Court-fee has elapsed (on 11 February 1926) and the extra Court-fee has not been deposited, I dismiss the appeal in default of compliance with the order.