1. The present petition is filed by the petitioner, being dissatisfied by the judgment and order passed by the learned Family Court No.2, Pune on 21/9/2017 on an application at Exh.40 in P.A. No. 931/2016. By the said impugned order, the application preferred by the respondent on the ground of nonpayment of court fees as required under the provisions of the Maharashtra Court Fees Act was treated as inquiry under section 8 and direction was issued to the present petitioner to pay full advalorem court fees on the said amount.

2. In order to test the impugned order, it is necessary to cull out certain facts leading to the passing of impugned order. The petitioner before this Court is the husband and his marriage was solemnized with the respondent on 15/10/1995. The respondent wife filed a petition seeking dissolution of marriage, which came to be numbered as PA 931/2016. According to the petitioner, during subsistence of the marriage, a joint account came to be opened by the petitioner and the respondent in HDFC Bank bearing Savings Bank Account No. 0103000058319 along with the mother of the petitioner. It is the case of the petitioner that various amounts were deposited by him in the said joint account and the said amount was invested in various mutual funds to the tune of Rs.3,22,30,000/- and on its maturity the amount of Rs. 3,79,50,80,807/- was accumulated in the mutual funds. It is the case of the petitioner that the respondent wife unilaterally redeemed certain mutual funds on or about 6/9/2017 and an accumulated amount of Rs.2,40,79,935.69 was deposited in the joint account. According to the petitioner, further funds were unilaterally redeemed and total amount of Rs.3,97,51,807/- was deposited in the joint account because of premature redemption of mutual funds. It is the specific case of the petitioner that investment in the mutual fund was to be utilized for the welfare of their three children being born out of the said wedlock.

The petitioner was aggrieved by the act of the respondent on unilaterally redeeming the mutual fund and depositing the amount in the joint account and further unilaterally transferring the amount of Rs.3,79,50,80,807/- by RTGS to her personal savings account in Axis Bank, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune on 6/9/2017 to the tune of Rs.3,79,51,579/- from the joint account. Being aggrieved by the said act of the respondent, the petitioner moved an application for interim relief in the pending P.A. No. 931/2016 filed by the respondent wife, requesting the court to issue necessary mandatory interim directions for retransfer of the amount of Rs.3,79,51,579/- from the personal savings account of the Axis Bank, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune to the joint account of the petitioner and the respondent along with their mother i.e. savings account No. 0103000058319 of the HDFC Bank. The said application was opposed by the respondent wife by filing reply on merits. The respondent also moved another application Exh.40 on 18/9/2017 under the provisions of Section 8 of the Bombay Court Fees Act, 1959 read with Suit Valuation Act, 1887 and in the said application the respondent prayed that the requisite court fees be paid on advalorem basis, since the relief sought in the application was in the nature of a suit for the purpose of recovery of amount of Rs.3,79,51,579/and therefore looking to the real nature of the application, it was prayed that the provisions of section 6 (i) and 6 (iii) of the Maharashtra Court Fees Act, 1959 are attracted. The said application was opposed by the present petitioner by stating that the provisions sought to be invoked were not applicable in respect of an interim application and was applicable only in respect of plaint. It is in this background, the impugned order came to be passed by the learned Judge of the Family Court on 21/9/2017 which is assailed in the present petition.

3. The