AIR 1995 DELHI 136 ::(1994) 56 DLT 79 ::(1995) 2 CivilCourtC 356 ::(1994) 31 DRJ 485 ::1996 (1) LJR 79

Delhi High Court

Hon'ble Judge(s): Vijender Jain , J

Court-fees Act (7 of 1870) , S.7(iv)(f)— Court-fee - Valuation of suit by plaintiff Justifiability - Suit seeking rendition of accounts - Sales running in several hundred crores - Estimation of lakhs of rupees as due from defendant - Valuation in thousands of rupees only was arbitrary - Plaintiff directed to make up deficiency. Civil P.C. (5 of 1908) , O.78 R.11— @page-Del137 Where in a suit seeking rendition of accounts, as per plaintiff his sales ran into several hundreds of crores and he estimated lakhs of rupees as due from the defendant, valuation of suit by plaintiff in thousands of rupees only was arbitrary and not justified. Plaintiff was directed to make the deficiency in court-fee within a week's time instead of rejecting the suit.(Para 10 12) The intention of the legislature in enacting section 7(iv)(f) was not to burden the plaintiff with court-fee to be paid on an amount which is unspecified and unascertained. As it would be only fair to have court-fee paid by the plaintiff amount which the plaintiff feels in his bona fide and reasonable belief to be the amount at which he assesses the value of the relief so that he can ultimately pay the amount of actual court-fee after rendition of account when a decree in terms thereof is passed. But it does not give the plaintiff ....