ORDER :- This is a reference under S. 5, Court-fees Act. The appellant in this case obtained a decree for specific performance of a contract of sale of some immovable property, valuing the suit at Rs. 75,000. The lower Court directed that the parties would bear their own costs. The appeal to this Court relates only to the order which in effect deprives the appellant of the cost which he would ordinarily expect to receive. The memorandum of appeal was filed with a court-fee stamp of Rs. 2 only. The Stamp Reporter demanded an ad valorem court-fee on the amount of costs. The matter was placed before the Taxing Officer and has now been referred to me for decision.

2. Two decisions of this Court relating to the matter of court-fees chargeable in respect of costs are referred to in the reference by the Taxing Officer, viz., a decision of Nasim Ali, J. in the case of F.A.T. No. 2488 of 1937 [Kshirode Chandra Sen v. Sm. Bhagbati Dasi] and a decision of Chatterjea, J. in the case of Kumari v. Rangpur North Bengal 25 CWN 934 : (AIR (8) 1921 Cal 55).

3. In the course of arguments my attention has also been drawn to a decision of Mitter, J. in the case of Jyoti Prosad v. Jogendra Ram Roy, 32 CWN

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