Stipends are not subject to attachment and should be excluded from determining a person's status as an indigent person under the Civil Procedure Code.

R.L.Anand, J.

1. The material point for determination in the present revision is whether a stipend in the hand of a person is to be counted for the purpose of income so as to adjudicate as to whether a person is an indigent person or not?

2. Some facts can be noticed in the following manner. Shri Balbir Singh son of Shri Joga Singh, the present petitioner, filed an application in the form of an indigent person seeking the permission of the Civil Court to recover the amount of Rs. 1,51,000/- by way of damages and compensation against Shri Dilbag Singh, Ram Samp and Jagir Singh it was alleged by the petitioner that he owns no moveable or immovable property except the one mentioned in the list attached with the application and he is unable to pay Court-fee as required under the law because he has no source of income.

3. The application was contested by the respondents and the following issues were framed by the trial Court in order to decide the application of the petitioner under order 33 C.P.C:-

1. Whether the applicant is an indigent person?

2. Relief.

4. The parties were afforded the opportunities to lead evidence and during the course of evidence, it was brought on the record that the petitioner has two buffaloes besides that he earns a sum of Rs. 1,200/- per month by way of stipend which he gets in the capacity of a Supervisor from Sakharta Mission (Literacy campaign). The trial Court, in these circumstances, held that the petitioner was not an indigent person and vide order dated 10.4.1995, his petition was dismissed.

5. The petitioner, Shri Balbir Singh, filed an appeal before the Court of Additional District Judge, Hoshiarpur, who dismissed the appeal for the reasons given in para No. 9 of the impugned order dated 29.11.1995.

"There is a sufficient evidence on the file vide which it has been proved that the appellant is keeping two buffaloes and is selling milk and thus is earning sufficient amount in addition to the salary which the appellant is earning from the literacy campaign amount of Rs. 1,200/- per month. Learned counsel for the appellant relied upon (1993-2)104 P.L.R. page 93 in case titled Parveen Kumar Anand v. State Bank of India, wherein it has been held by the Honble High Court. "That deposit under the Provident fund is exempted from attachment cannot be taken into consideration for holding that he is not indigent person."

The citation referred above is not applicable to the present case as in the present case in addition to the income from selling the milk appellant is earning Rs. 1,200/- per month regularly which he is getting from the literacy campaign (Sakharta Mission)"

6. Aggrieved by the orders of the Courts below, the present revision has been filed by the petitioner, which I am disposing of with the assistance rendered by Mrs. Baljeet K. Bhullar, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner. Nobody has appeared on behalf of the respondents inspite of service.

7. As 1 stated above, the point for determination is as to whether the stipend which a person gets from any institution is to be treated as regular income for the purpose of his assets or not ?

8. Order 33 (1) of the C.P.C. lays down that subject to the following provision, any suit must be instituted by an indigent person.

Explanation 1-A.- further lays down that a person is an indigent person: (a) If he is not possessed of sufficient means other than property exempt from attachment in execution of a decree and the subject matter of the suit) to enable the to pay the fee prescribed by law or the plaint in such suit, or

(b) Where no such fee is prescribed, if he is not entitled-to property worth one thousand rupees other than the property exempt from attachment in execution of a decree, and the subject-matter of the suit.

Explanation II.- Any property which is acquired by a person after the presentation of his application for permission to sue as an indigent person, and before the decision of the application, shall be take