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High Court Of Calcutta
RAMENDRA MOHAN DATTA, PRADYOT KUMAR BANERJEE, CHITTATOSH MUKHERJEE
DHIRAJ BALA KARIA - Appellant
Versus
JETHIA ESTATE PVT.LTD. - Respondent
Civil Order 2842 Of 1981
Decided On : 07/22/1982
COURT FEES - SUIT FOR SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE OF CONTRACT FOR GRANTING LEASE - PRAYER FOR DELIVERY OF POSSESSION - VALUATION - WEST BENGAL COURT FEES ACT, 1970, SECTION 7(XII)(C), 7(V), 21(2).
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiff filed a suit for specific performance of an agreement to let out the suit premises to her for 21 years with an option for renewal for another 21 years. She also prayed for a decree of permanent injunction to restrain the defendant from letting out the suit premises to any person other than her. The plaintiff valued the suit at Rs. 100 for injunction and paid court fees accordingly. Subsequently, she amended the plaint and inserted a prayer for delivery of possession of the suit premises. She valued the suit for specific performance at Rs. 6,000 (being the annual rent for the first year of the lease) and paid court fees thereon. The defendant contended that the suit should be valued under Clause (v) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970, according to the market value of the subject-matter of the suit and that the City Civil Court did not have pecuniary jurisdiction to try the suit. The trial court held that the suit should be valued under Clause (xii)(c) of Section 7 of the Act and fixed the revised valuation of the suit at Rs. 43,000. The plaintiff filed a revisional application challenging the correctness of the trial court's order, and the defendant filed a revisional application contending that the prayer for recovery of possession should be separately valued and that the aggregate value of the suit exceeded the pecuniary jurisdiction of the City Civil Court. The High Court referred the following question of law to a Special Bench: whether a suit for specific performance of a contract for granting lease together with a prayer for delivery of possession should be valued under Clause (xii)(c) or under Clause (v) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970.
Finding of the Court:
The Special Bench held that a suit for specific performance of a contract for granting lease together with a prayer for delivery of possession should be valued under Clause (xii)(c) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970. The Court held that the prayer for delivery of possession was not a distinct and separate relief, but a necessary consequence of granting a decree for specific performance of a contract to transfer immovable property. Therefore, Sub-section (2) of Section 21 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970, had no manner of application to the present case.
Issues: Whether a suit for specific performance of a contract for granting lease together with a prayer for delivery of possession should be valued under Clause (xii)(c) or under Clause (v) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court held that the prayer for delivery of possession in a suit for specific performance is not a distinct and separate relief, but a necessary consequence of granting a decree for specific performance of a contract to transfer immovable property. Therefore, the suit should be valued under Clause (xii)(c) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970, which deals with suits for specific performance of contracts for granting lease.
Final Decision: The Court dismissed both the revisional applications and held that the learned Judge of the Court below correctly computed the fees payable upon the plaint of the instant suit according to Clause (xii) (e) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970.
( 1 ) THIS Special Bench has been constituted under Rule 1 (ii), Chap. II of the Appellate Side Rules for hearing the following question of law which has arisen in two Civil Orders under Section 115 of the Civil P. C. , 1908:"whether a suit for specific performance of a contract for granting lease together with a prayer for Delivery of Possession of the suit property should be valued under Clause (xii) (c) or under Clause (v) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970. "
( 2 ) ON 16th May, 1980, Sm. Dhiraj Bala Karia, instituted Title Suit No. 968 of 1980 in the City Civil Court at Calcutta, inter alia, for a decree of permanent injunction to restrain the defendant, M/s. Jethia Estates Pvt. Ltd. , from letting out to any person other than the plaintiff the ground floor and the first floor of Premises No. 21, Rupchand Roy Street measuring about 4330 sq. ft. The plaintiff averred that there had been an agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant for letting out the said suit premises to the plaintiff for 21 years with option for renewal for another 21 years, inter alia, on the following terms :-- (a) The rent would be Rs. 500. 00 per month. (b) An advance of Rs. 70,000. 00 would be paid by the plaintiff to the defendant to be adjusted against the rent @ Rs. 250. 00 per month. (c) An amount of Rs. 30,000. 00 would be kept by the plaintiff with the defendant in suspense account for the future. The plaintiff alleged that in breach of the said agreement to let out the premises to her, the defendant was trying to induct another person as the tenant of the suit premises. For the purposes of court-fees, the suit was valued at Rs. 100. 00 for injunction and court-fees were paid therein.
( 3 ) SUBSEQUENTLY on plaintiff's application the Plaint of the said Title Suit No. 968 of 1980 has been amended, inter alia, by inserting the following prayer (aa): "that the defendant do forthwith execute/ lease in respect of the suit premises (described in the schedule to the plaint) in favour of the plaintiff and to do acts for registration thereof and to put the plaintiff in full possession of the property". The plaintiff in amended para (13) of her plaint has avered that for purposes of court-fees, the suit is valued at Rs. 100. 00 for Injunction and Rs. 6,000. 00 (being annual rent for the first year of the lease) in terms of Section 7 (xii) of the West Bengal Court-fees Act. 1970 for specific performance of the Agreement of Lease and Court-fees is paid
thereon. ( 4 ) M/s. Jethia Estates Pvt. Ltd. , the defendant in the said Title Suit, who denied that there was any agreement between the parties for grant of lease of the suit premises to the plaintiff, made an application before the trial Court under Sections 10 and 11 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970, for determination of the correct valuation of the suit after investigation. The case of the defendant Company was that the plaintiff, having prayed for a decree for delivery of possession in addition to a decree for specific performance, she was bound to pay ad valorem court-fees according to the market value of the subject-matter of the suit in terms of Clause (v) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970. Under Section 8 of the Suits Valuation Act, 1887 in case of a suit under Clause (v) of Section 7 of the Court-fees Act, the value as determinable for computation of court-fees and value for the purposes of jurisdiction shall be the same. The defendant also urged that the value of the subject-matter of the aforesaid suit would far exceed the limits of pecuniary jurisdiction of the City Civil Court and, therefore, the said Court is not competent to try the suit.
( 5 ) THE learned Judge, 13th Bench, City Civil Court by his Order No. 35 dated 6th July, 1981 accepted the plaintiff's contention that the court-fees upon the plaint are payable according to the provisions of Clause (xii) (c) of Section 7 of the West Bengal Court-fees Act, 1970
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