Raghubar Singh and others vs Jethu Mahton

Coutts, J.—The question for decision is whether Court-fee is payable on a memorandum of appeal u/s 10 of the Letters Patent. Up to now Court-fees have been levied but it is contended that the only law under which Court-fees can be levied is Section 4 of the Court Fees Act and that this section does not contemplate payment of Court-fee in the case of an appeal from the decision of a single Judge of the High Court.

Section 4 of the Court Fees Act says "No document of any of the kinds (specified in the first or second schedule to this Act annexed, as chargeable with fees, shall be filed, exhibited or recorded in, or shall be received or furnished by any of the said High Courts in any case coming before such Court in the exercise of its extraordinary original civil jurisdiction. Or in the exercise of its jurisdiction as regards appeals from the judgment of two or more Judges of the said Court or of a Division Court .............................................. unless in respect of the document there be paid a fee of an amount not less than that indicated by either of the said schedules as the proper fee for such document."

In this High Court so far as I am aware no Division Court has ever been constituted, and-in any case in my opinion, a Division Court must, under the law as it stands at present, consist of at least, two Judges for Section 108 of the Government of India Act enacts that

"(1) Each High Court may by its own rules provide, as it thinks fit, for the exercise by one or more Judges or by Division Courts constituted by two or more Judges of the High Court of the original and appellate Jurisdiction vested in the Court. (2) The Chief Justice of each High Court shall determine what Judge in each case is to sit alone, and what Judges of the Court whether with or without the Chief Justice are to constitute the several Division Courts."

Section 4 of the Court Fees Act, therefore, does not entitle the High Court to levy Court-fees on Letters Patent appeals and there being no other law under which they can be levied, such appeals must be accepted without Court-fees. I feel convinced, however, that it was never intended that Letters Patent appeals should be filed without Court-fees and I would suggest that the matter be brought to the attention of the legislature.