The interpretation of Section 15 of the Civil Procedure Code as a procedural rule and the affirmation of the lower court's jurisdiction despite the valuation for jurisdictional purposes.

ORDER :- The first defendant in Civil Suit No. 62/69 on the file of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, at Panjim, has filed this petition under Section 115 of the Civil Procedure Code. The first respondent herein had filed the suit against the revision petitioner and the second respondent herein for declaration and permanent injunction. In that suit after the issues were framed and the suit came up for trial for the first time on 16-12-70 the petitioner herein filed petition in the lower Court stating that as per the averments in the plaint as regards the valuation of the reliefs the lower Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit and that the plaint was fit to be returned for presentation to proper Court. The learned Judge of the trial Court passed the following order on that petition on 16-12-70 :-

"Since an issue has been framed by the Court as regards the proper valuation of this suit and the matter of jurisdiction raised by the applicant is connected with such valuation the point of jurisdiction will be considered at the time the said issue, which is preliminary is decided."

The petitioner contends that this order of the lower Court is against the provisions of Section 15 of the C.P.C., that the value of the suit in the eye of law is not more than Rs. 1060/-, that even though it is stated in the plaint that the value of the suit for the purpose of jurisdiction is Rs. 15,000/- it cannot be the value of the suit for the purpose of jurisdiction, that the lower Court has no jurisdiction to entertain the suit and that direction should be given to the lower Court to decide the question of jurisdiction first having regard to the averments made in the plaint and the objections taken in his petition dated 16-12-70.

2. The point is whether this petition is fit to be admitted.

3. The contention of the petitioner that the lower Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit does not appear to be correct. The suit is on the file of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, whose pecuniary jurisdiction is unlimited as per Section 20 (2) of the Goa, Daman and Diu Civil Courts Act, 1965. The jurisdiction of Civil Judge, Senior Division, extends to all original suits and proceedings of civil nature. Even if the value of the suit for the purposes of jurisdiction is Rs. 1060/- or below Rs. 10,000/- the Civil Judge Senior Division can try that suit without returning the plaint for presentation to proper Court (i.e., Civil Judge Junior Division's Court) if he considers it just and proper. In this case the suit was filed in the Court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, stating that its value for the purposes of jurisdiction was Rs. 15,000/-. The learned Civil Judge, Senior Division, even according to the petitioner has recorded evidence of the plaintiff on all issues. It means he thought fit to try the case being of the opinion that the question relating to jurisdiction depends on the decision about the proper valuation of the suit and it has no importance. Even if he comes to the conclusion that the value of the suit is below Rs. 10,000/- it will have to be said under these circumstances that he wants to dispose of on merits the suit to avoid inconvenience to the parties. By the Civil Judge, Senior Division trying the suit the petitioner is in no way prejudiced. It would have been better if the learned Judge were to have decided the question of jurisdiction in the beginning only but because no prejudice is caused to any party by his not doing so this petition need not be entertained.

Section 15, C. P. C. merely lays down a rule of procedure. It has nothing to do with the jurisdiction of the Court.

Keeping in view the provisions of that section a Court of higher grade before which a suit triable by a Court of lower grade has been filed can return the plaint for presentation to proper Court if it thinks fit. The Court of higher grade has always jurisdiction to try the cases triable by the Court of lower grade unless specially prohibited by law. In vi

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