The 'amount in dispute in the appeal' is the amount actually in dispute, irrespective of future interest.

1. Respondents 1 and 2 applied before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ernakulam under S.110A, Motor Vehicles Act for compensation for damages caused to their building in an accident by a bus, KLR. 7785 driven by the 4th respondent. The Tribunal allowed their application and granted them compensation of Rs. 1546/-with interest from 21-12-1976 and costs from respondents 1 and 2 and the appellant, the Insurance Company which was the 3rd respondent. The Tribunal also directed that the Insurance Company would deposit the amount and that its liability would be limited to Rs. 2000/-if the amount exceeded it. The appellant has brought this appeal challenging its liability. Counsel for respondents 1 and 2 raised a preliminary objection that the appeal would not lie under S.110D(2) on the ground that the amount in dispute in the appeal is less than two thousand rupees. Counsel pointed out that the amount allowed by the Tribunal was only Rs.1546/-and even with the interest at 6 per cent from 21-12-1976, the amount would only be Rs. 1972/- at the date of the award. According to counsel, the amount in dispute in the appeal is Rs. 1546/-or at the best Rs. 1972/-and in either case the appeal is incompetent as the amount in dispute in the appeal is less than Rs. 2000/-. Counsel for the appellant countered by arguing that at the date of the appeal the amount awarded with the interest was above Rs. 2000/- and that being the amount in dispute in the appeal, the appeal was competent in terms of S.1101)(2).

2. As there was no direct decision on the point we heard the learned Government Pleader as well. He supported the respondents in the preliminary objection.

3. S.110D(2) reads:

"No appeal shall lie against any award of a Claims Tribunal, if the amount in dispute in the appeal is less than two thousand rupees."

The appeal was admittedly brought challenging the amount awarded by the Tribunal. Unless the appellant gives up any portion of the amount awarded, the amount in dispute in the appeal is the amount covered by the award. That amount is under Rs. 2000/- and even with the interest till the date of the award it is still under Rs. 2000/-. The question is whether the circumstance that the amount has swelled beyond Rs. 2000/- at the date of the appeal by accrual of interest will sustain the appeal. Although the Act and the Rules are silent thereon, the general principle in Court Fees Law is that in appeal court fee is not payable on the amount of future interest allowed by the decree unless the concerned Act specifically provides or the award of interest is challenged as a separate ground, for interest hangs upon the principal claim. The position is the same with respect to costs. These aspects which are more appropriate to the payment of court fees are not irrelevant for they help define the idea of "the amount in dispute in the appeal". In Court Fees Law, except where the Statute mandates otherwise, court fee is payable only on the amount in dispute in the appeal; in other words the amount which the appellant disputes in the appeal. We must also mention that the appellant does not specifically challenge the award of the interest or the rate of interest. The result is that on the grounds taken by the appellant interest is outside the scope of dispute.

4. On the words "the amount in dispute in the appeal" we might refer to State of Maharashtra v. Mishrilal Tarachand Lodha & Others, AIR.1964 S. C. 457. In that case the respondent-defendant filed an appeal in the High Court valuing the claim for purposes of jurisdiction and court fee at the principal amount in the plaint but ignoring the future interest decreed by the trial court. The question before the Supreme Court was whether this was correct and in accordance with the expression "amount or value of the subject matter in dispute" in Art.1 of Schedule I of the Bombay Court Fees Act, 1959. The appeal memorandum did not deal with the award or rate of pendente lite interest. The amount o