1. This Original Application filed in terms of section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (in short ‘Act’) prays for the appointment of a Receiver to administer the property of the respondents morefully described in the schedule to the Judges Summons pending disposal of proceedings for arbitration and enforcement of award.

2. Along with the application, the applicant remitted court fee of a sum of Rs.200/- in terms of Rule 1 of Appendix II to the High Court Fee Rules being of the view that the application was incapable of valuation. Order II of the High Court Fee Rules prescribes a levy of fee in accordance with the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1955 and Rules framed thereunder and as per the scale of fee set out in Appendix II to the High Court Fee Rules. According to the applicant, the applicable provision would be the following:

APPENDIX II

COURT FEES

Serial Number	Description of document or proceeding	Amount
(1)
(2)
(3)

Fees to be levied by the Registrar of the High Court 1. Special Case under the Arbitration Act, 1940 or any other enactment Rs.200.00 3. The Registry notes that the application seeking appointment of Receiver refers to an agreement for a loan of an amount of Rs.62,00,000/- and that the claim before the Arbitrator was for an amount of Rs.82,80,653/-. The application was thus, according to the Registry, capable of valuation and 3% of the subject matter was liable to be paid subject to a maximum of one lakh in terms of Schedule II Article 11(m) of the Tamil Nadu Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act reading as under:

Schedule II Article 11(m) of Tamil Nadu Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act

4. The application was returned for remittance of deficit fee as aforesaid and has come to be listed for a determination of its ‘maintainability’ before me.

5. Heard Mr. R. Umashankar, learned counsel appearing for the applicant as well as other learned counsels present at the time of hearing on the issue of maintainability.

6. This application, filed in terms of section 9 of the Act seeks certain interim measures of protection, pending proceedings for arbitration. Learned counsel would contend that the application is in the nature of an interlocutory application akin to one in terms of section 94, Order XXXVIII (Rules 5 and 6), Order XXXIX (Rules 1 and 2) and Order XL of the Civil Procedure Code 1908. The proper court fee is a sum of Rs.20 in terms of the High Court Fee Rules read with the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Court Fees and Suit Valuations Act and at the highest, a sum of Rs.200 in view of Rule 1 of Appendix II thereof, extracted above. The call for remittance of 3% of the value of the loan availed/claim before the arbitrator, subject to a ceiling of Rs.1,00,000/- would in effect, equate the application for interim relief with a suit for the purpose of valuation which is erroneous in law.

7. Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 reads thus:

Interim measures etc by Court –

(1) A party may, before or during arbitral proceedings or at any time after the making of the arbitral award but before it is enforced in accordance with section 36 apply to Court –

(i) For the appointment of a guardian for a minor or a person of unsound mind for the purposes of arbitral proceedings; or

(ii) For an interim measure of protection respect of any of the following matters, namely-

(a) The preservation, interim custody or sale of any goods which are the subject matter of the arbitration agreement;

(b) Securing the amount in dispute in the arbitration;

(c) The detention, preservation or inspection of any property or thing which is the subject matter of the dispute in