An order directing payment of court fee towards

the claim for mesne profits in a suit for partition,

is under challenge by the plaintiff.

2. The claim for partition is laid on the

allegation that the properties sought to be

partitioned are co-ownership properties. The court

below held that, when the plaintiff has assessed the

quantum of mesne profit, the court fee as prescribed

under Section 44 of the Kerala Court Fees and Suits

valuation Act is to be paid.

3. The court fee payable in a suit for partition

is governed by Section 37 of the Court Fees and Suit

Valuation Act. A claim for partition pre-supposes

joint ownership of the property. A co-owner not in

possession seeks for division and separate allotment

of his share which was till then held jointly. He is

a co-sharer along with the others. He is entitled to

his share of the assets. Necessarily the income from

the properties are also liable to be partitioned in

the same proportion.

4. The right of a co-owner to claim for share of

the profits is inherent in his right of ownership

over the property. The income from the property gets

added to the corpus and is thus liable to be

partitioned. This Court has taken the said v