Court fee is payable on the amount of pendente lite and future interest awarded by the Court on the principal amount.

1. - Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. The decree-holder-petitioner has preferred this civil revision petition under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure against the impugned order dated 4.1.2008 passed by Additional District Judge (Fast Track) No.3, Jaipur City, Jaipur in an execution petition filed by the petitioner whereby the learned executing court has directed the petitioner to pay court fees on the amount of interest for the realisation of which the execution petition has been filed.

3. In this revision petition following important question of law has arisen:

"Whether court fee is payable on the amount of pendente lite and future interest awarded by the Court on the principal amount."

4. Brief relevant facts for deciding the question so arisen are that the petitioner filed a money suit against the non-petitioner for recovery of principal amount of Rs.31,22,644/- and interest amount of Rs.11,24,151/- as accrued till the date of suit 22.2.1989 i.e. for recovery of total amount of Rs.42,46,795/-. In the suit pendente lite interest and future interest from the date of decree till the date of payment or realisation of the principal amount was also claimed. The suit was decreed by the trial Court vide judgment and decree dated 23.11.2005. The learned trial Court, apart from allowing principal amount and amount of interest as accrued till the date of institution of the suit as claimed by the petitioner, also held that the petitioner is entitled to obtain further interest on the principal amount at the rate fixed by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time from the date of institution of suit till the payment of the principal amount by the non-petitioner to the petitioner. Thus, pendente lite and future interest was also awarded. It is an admitted fact that in the appeal filed by the non-petitioner before this Court, a conditional stay order was passed and in compliance of that order the principal amount along with the amount of interest as accrued till the date of the suit was deposited by the non-petitioner in the trial Court and the same has been disbursed to the petitioner with some condition, but the pendente lite and future interest as awarded by the trial Court has neither been deposited nor paid to the petitioner. To recover the unpaid amount of interest, the petitioner filed an execution petition before the learned Court below with a prayer that the same may be recovered from the non-petitioner and paid to the petitioner. An office objection was raised that requisite court fees is required to be paid on the amount of interest for the recovery of which the execution petition has been filed. The learned Court below after hearing learned counsel for the petitioner sustained the objection raised by the office and it was directed that the execution petition can proceed further only when require court fee is paid by the petitioner on the amount to be recovered. Feeling aggrieved, the decree-holder-petitioner is before this Court by way of this civil revision petition.

5. It was submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that there is no provision in the Rajasthan Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1961 (hereinafter to be referred as 'the Act') requiring that court fees is liable to be paid on the amount of interest awarded by the Court from the date of institution of suit till the date of decree and from the date of decree to the date of payment of the principal amount and in absence of such legal provision, the court below had no jurisdiction to direct the petitioner to pay the deficient court fee. It was further submitted that in the suit the main relief claimed was for recovery of principal amount and amount of interest accrued on it till the date of institution of suit, whereas further interest from the date of institution of suit till the date of payment or realisation was claimed only as a consequential relief and, therefore, no court fee is required to be paid on such an consequential relief