The plaintiffs instituted O.S. No. 309 of 1950 in the District Munsiff’s Court, Tuticorin, a representative suit on behalf of themselves and other owners of properties within the Tuticorin Municipality in respect of which the defendants who are the Tuticorin Municipality published a scheme for the area covered by these properties as the area of Town Planning Scheme “D” of the Tuticorin Municipality. The suit was for a declaration that the “D” scheme propounded by the defendants under the Town Planning Act was illegal and ultra sires and for a permanent injunction prohibiting them from enforcing all or any provisions of the scheme against the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs valued the suit for purposes of court-fee and jurisdiction at Rs. 110 and paid a court-fee of Rs. 15 for declaration under Schedule II, Article 17 of the Court-Fees Act and for injunction at Rs. 1-1-0 under section 7(iv)(d) of the Court-Fees Act. An issue was raised as to the correctness of the court-fee paid which was tried as a preliminary issue. Besides, the Court-fee Examiner also issued a check slip that the suit should have been valued under the proviso to section 7, clause (iv)(c) of the Madras Court-F