JUDGMENT

R. M. SAHAI, J.:- The question of law that arises for consideration in this appeal directed against judgment of the Kerala High Court is if the court-fee liable to be paid under Section 36 of Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) in a suit for dissolution of partnership and accounting is to be computed on the value of the plaintiffs share in a partnership as estimated by him or as found by the Court.

2. Computation of court-fee under the Kerala Act is governed by Chap. IV of the Act. Section 35 of it deals with suits for accounts and Section 36 suit for dissolution of partnership. Since this appeal is concerned with Section 36 only it is extracted below:

"36. Suits for dissolution of partnership (1) In a suit for dissolution of partnership and accounts or for accounts of dissolved partnership, fee shall be computed on the value of the plaintiffs share in the partnership as estimated by the plaintiff.

(2) If the value of the plaintiffs share as ascertained in the suit exceeds the value as estimated in the plaint, no decree, or where there has been a preliminary decree, no final decree, shall be passed in favour of the plaintiff, no payment shall be made out of the assets of the partnership and no property shall be allotted as for the plaintiffs share, until the difference between the fee actually paid and the fee that would have been payable had the suit comprised the whole of the value so ascertained, is paid.

(3) No final decree shall be passed, no money shall be paid and no allotment of property shall be made in favour of a defendant in any such suit as, for or on account of, his share of the assets of the partnership, until the fee computed on the amount or value of his share of the assets of the partnership is paid."

The scheme followed in Chapter IV of the Act is analogous to method of computation of court-fee provided for by Section 7(iv) and its various sub-clauses of Court-fees Act of 1870. Clause (f) of Section 7(iv) reads as under:

"(f) for accounts-

according to the amount at which the relief sought is valued in the plaint or memorandum of appeal;"

Various sections of the Kerala Act or different sub-clauses of Section 7 of Central Act contemplate three modes of valuation of the subject matter namely according to market value, or subject matter or estimate by plaintiff or according to the amount at which relief sought is valued. Payment of court-fee on estimate by the plaintiff or on the relief sought is a method provided for in such suits where the exact amount is not known or is not capable of being known till it has been adjudicated upon on evidence. In S.R.A.S.S. Sathappa Chettiar v. S. R. A. R. Ramanathan Chettiar, 1958 SCR 1021 (1024), this Court, while examining the scheme of computation of court-fee in suits falling under Section 7(iv) of 1870 Act, observed (at pp. 251-52 of AIR):

"If the scheme laid down for the computation of fees payable in suits covered by the several sub-sections of S. 7 is considered, it would be clear that, in respect of suits falling under sub-sec. (iv), a departure has been made and liberty has been given to the plaintiff to value his claim for the purposes of court fees. The theoretical basis of this provision appears to be that in cases in which the plaintiff is given the option to value his claim. It is really difficult to value the claim with any precision or definiteness.................... That is why legislature has left it to the option of the plaintiff to value his claim for the payment of court fees. It really means that in suits falling under S.7(iv)(b) the amount stated by the plaintiff as the value of his claim for partition has ordinarily to be accepted by the court in computing the court-fees payable in respect of the said relief."

Same reasoning applies to suits filed for dissolution of partnership and accounting under Section 36 of Kerala Act.

3. The question however is if the disclosure of valuation is in absolute discreti