The court-fee payable on a suit for redemption of a pledge of movable property, where the pledged property is a document of title, is to be computed under Section 23(2)(b) of the Andhra Court Fees Act, which applies to suits for possession of documents of title where the plaintiff's title is not denied.

GOPALRAO EKBOTE, J.

( 1 ) THIS revision petition is directed against the order dated 23-2-1960 passed by the Addl. Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Hyderabad.

( 2 ) THE petitioners instituted a suit in which they sought the following reliefs: (a) directing the defendant to deliver the share certificates of the Vazir Sultan Tobacco Co. , Ltd. , as detailed in the plaint Schedule A, (b) for a sum of Rs. 5,000. 00 by way of damages in torts, and (c) far reasonable amount towards damages for breach of contract calculated at Rs. 512. 00.

( 3 ) THESE reliefs were sought on the footing that the plaintiffs and the father of plaintiffs 4 to 8 obtained a loan of Rs. 90,000. 00 from defendant on 10th March, 1955 end executed a promissory note. The plaintiffs also pledged with the defendant share certificates of the Vazir Sultan Tobacco Co. , Ltd. A memorandum of pledge was drawn up. The plaintiffs requested the defendant to receive the balance of amount due and sought the redemption of the suit shares. The defendant admitting the transaction of pledge pleaded that the plaintiffs have no right to redeem the same until the expiry of three years. As the defendant had raised the plea that the suit was not properly valued, the lower Court framed issue No. 5 in that respect. The Court-fee Examiner also raised an objection regarding the valuation of the suit and the court-fees paid thereon. According to the Court-fee Examiner the share scripts are movables having market value and therefore the plaintiffs should pay the court-fee as payable under Section 23 (1) (a) of the Andhra Court-fees Act, hereinafter called the Act.

( 4 ) THE lower Court after hearing the parties through the order abovementioned upheld the objection of the Court-fee Examiner and found that the Court-fee paid in regard to relief No. 1 that is, redemption of pledge, inadequate. With regard to other reliefs there appears w be no grievance. It is this order of the Court below which is now challenged before me by the plaintiffs-petitioners.

( 5 ) IT is agreed that the suit is for redemption of a pledge. I have therefore to see what court-fee is to be paid on sued a suit. It is conceded that the Act does not specifically provide for a suit for redemption of a pledge. There is, however, Section 31, in Sun-section (8) of which it is provided that "in a suit against a mortgage for redemption of a mortgage, fee shall be computed on the amount due on the mortgage as stated in the plaint or on one-fourth of the principal amount secured under the mortgage, which ever is higher. " I am not concerned with the two provisos of Sub-section (8 ). Section 31 does not specifically refer to mortgages of im-movables. It may, perhaps, therefore, be rightly argued, that the language of Section 31 is comprehensive enough to include within its meaning mortgage of movable property. In order to find, out whether the suit transaction falls within Section 31 (8) it immediately becomes plain that I must find out whether it is a mortgage. Section 172 of the Contract Act defines pledge. It is in the following terms: "the bailment of goods as security for payment of a debt or performance of a promise is called pledge. The bailor is in this case called the pawner; the bailee is the pawnee. " it is seen from the definition that there are three essential ingredients of a pledge. (1) There must be a bailment of goods as defined in Section 148 of the Contract Act, that is, delivery of goods; (2) The bailment must be by way of security. (3) The security must be for payment of a debt or performance of a promise.

( 6 ) IT is thus clear that a pledge is the delivery or goods by the pledger to the pledgee by way of security upon a contract that they shall when the debt is paid or the promise is performed, be returned or otherwise disposed of according to the directions of the pledger. A pledge would, therefore, create an estate which vests in the pledgee, which is distinguishable from ownership since an owner owns (a)

Click Here to Read the rest of this document