A will, after the death of the testator, becomes an instrument securing money or property within the meaning of Section 7 (IV-A) of the Court Fees Act, and a suit involving the cancellation or adjudging void of a will is subject to court-fee under Section 7 (IV-A) of the Court Fees Act.

( 1 ) THIS is an appeal by the plaintiff under Section 6-A, Court-fees Act against an order holding that the Court-fee paid on the plaint was insufficient on the ground that the relief claimed involves cancellation or adjudging void of a Will. The facts of the case are as follows:

( 2 ) THE plaintiff claimed that his father carried on a certain business and owned certain property; that he held a decree for Rs. 22,800/-against Rani Jai Raj Kunwar; that on 17-3-1941, Chiranji lal executed a Will in respect of his property bequeathing Rs. 7000/- out of the decretal amount to the plaintiff and half share of a certain house described in the plaint to the plaintiff and defendants 3 and 4; that Chiranji Lal wanted to give his business to the. plaintiff and defendant 4; that on account of the trickery of defendant 1 no mention was made of this intended gift in the will; that thereafter, when Chiranji Lal came to know that the gift in respect of the business assets had been omitted in the Will, he made an oral Will on or about the 23rd or 24th of March, 1941, to effectuate his intention; that in this way the plaintiff became the owner upon the death of Chiranji Lal of an amount of Rs. 7000/- out of the decretal amount and of half of the share in the business and of one sixth share in the house, that Chiranji Lal died on 29-12-1944, and the oral Will aforesaid was his last Will and Testament; that defendant 1 denies the plaintiffs right and puts forward another Will dated 26-12-1944 as the last Will of Chiranji Lal; that on that date he was not in his proper senses and was not in a fit position to execute a Will as he was incapable of understanding matters or to execute a Will intelligently; that the Will aforesaid dated 26-12-1944 is merely a forged paper and is not genuine and that the cause of action arose in the case when the defendant denied the plaintiffs right.

( 3 ) ON these allegations the plaintiff framed his reliefs as follows: a declaration may be made to the effect that the plaintiff is the owner of a sum of Rs. 7000/-out of the bonds which have been detailed at the bottom of the plaint and that he is owner of the business to the extent of one half and of the house to the extent of one sixth.

( 4 ) IT is stated before me that by an application the plaintiff wanted the amendment of the relief claimed in the plaint by the addition of a relief in the alternative to the effect that if the Will dated 26-12-1944 was found to be genuine then the plaintiff was entitled to a certain share in the propety. It is not known whether the amendment application was allowed or not. The Court passed an order on 24-7-1950 to the effect that the plaint involved the cancellation of the Will put up by the defendant, and therefore court-fee was payable under Section 7 (IV-A), Court-fees act as amended in U. P.

( 5 ) LEARNED counsel for the appellant contends that the relief claimed was a plain and simple declaratory relief. It was one for a declaration of the defendants right to a share and that the Will put. up by the defendant came only in the relief by means of an application for amendment. It was further contended that even if the relief involved cancellation of the will or its being adjudged void, still no Court-fee was payable under Section 7 (iva) because a will is merely a declaration of the Intention of the testator and is not an instrument by Which he secures any property or money within the meaning of Section 7 (iv-A), Court fees Act.

( 6 ) SECTION 7 (iv-A) runs as follows:

"in suits for or involving cancellation of or adjudging void or voidable a decree for money or other property haying a market value, or an instrument securing money or other property having such value. "

( 7 ) THE word instrument has not been defined in the Court fees Act. It has been defined in the stamp Act as including "every document by which any right or liability is, or purports to be, created, transferred, limited, extended, extinguished or recorded.