Court Fees Act, Section 7(iv)- Valuation – Principles governing the valuation of the suits – Court, observed that the plaintiff’s assessment in such a plaint about the amount due to his share was a guesswork in the absence of any cogent material and would not constitute objective standard of valuation – Suits Valuation Act, Section 9.

Court Fees Act, Section 7(iv)- Valuation – Principles governing the valuation of the suits – Court, observed that the plaintiff’s assessment in such a plaint about the amount due to his share was a guesswork in the absence of any cogent material and would not constitute objective standard of valuation – Suits Valuation Act, Section 9.

Held,

“7. So far as suits coming under Section 7(iv) of the Court Fees Act are concerned, the legislature has left the question of valuation of the relief sought in the plaint or memorandum of appeal to the plaintiff. The reason is obvious. The suits which are mentioned under Section 7(iv) are of such nature that it is difficult to lay down any standard of valuation. Indeed, the legislature has not laid down any standard of valuation in the Court Fees Act. Under Section 9 of the Suits Valuation Act, the High Court may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, frame rules for the valuation of suits referred to in Section 7(iv) of the Court Fees Act. Although the Punjab High Court has framed rules under Section 9 of the Suits Valuation Act which are applicable to the Union Territory of Delhi, such rules do not lay down any standard of valuation with regard to suits coming under Section 7(iv) of the Court Fees Act. It has already been noticed that under Rule 4(i) of the Punjab High Court Rules, the value of suit for accounts for purposes of court fee will be as determined by the Court Fees Act, which means that the valuation of the relief will have to be made by the plaintiff under Section 7(iv)(f) of the Court Fees Act.”

Held further

“13. But, there may be cases under Section 7(iv) where certain positive objective standard may be available for the purpose of determination of the valuation of the relief. If there be materials or objective standards for the valuation of the relief, and yet the plaintiff ignores the same and puts an arbitrary valuation, the court, in our opinion, is entitled to interfere under Order VII, Rule 11(b) of the Code of Civil Procedure, for the court will be in a position to determine the correct valuation with reference to the objective standards or materials available to it. In Urmilabala Biswas v. Binapani Biswas, AIR 1938 Cal. 161 : 42 CWN 192: 177 1C 893, a suit was instituted for declaration of title to provident fund money amounting to a definite sum with a prayer for injunction restraining the defendant from withdrawing the said money. It was held that there was no real distinction between the right to recover money and the right to that money itself, and that the relief should have been valued at the provident fund amount to which title was claimed by the plaintiff. Thus, it appears that although in that case the suit was one under Section 7(iv) (c) of the Court Fees Act, there was an objective standard which would enable the plaintiff and the court too to value the relief correctly and, in such a case, the court would be competent to direct the plaintiff to value the relief accordingly.”

Cannot be read to mean that in a suit for mandatory injunction concerning a property and thereby seeking certain mandates over the acts/omissions of the defendant, the suit is required to be valued as per the market value of the property. Such a proposition, for suit valuation on the market value of the property involved, irrespective of the nature of relief claimed, if accepted, would render the whole scheme of the Court Fees Act concerning suit valuation with reference to the nature of relief going haywire. This argument is required to be rejected.

Commercial Aviation and Travel Company and Ors. v. Vimla Pannalal, 1988 (3) SCC 423

2022 SCeJ 768, 2022 PLRonline 7907, (2022-3)207 PLR 092 (SC) (SN)

read here 2022 SCeJ 768, 2022 PLRonline 7907, (2022-3)207 PLR 092 (SC) (SN)