Rangoon Chidambara Reddiar Chatram Trust vs State of Tamil Nadu, by the Collector of Tiruchirappalli and 2 others

Bellie, J.—A perusal of the plaint shows that the plaintiff has prayed for a relief of declaration that the Agricultural income tax Assessment

proceedings are ab initio, illegal and irregular besides being ultra vires of the powers of the authorities concerned, and as a consequential relief to

restrain the defendants-authorities by permanent injunction from bringing the properties of the plaintiff described in the ''B'' schedule of the plaint to

sale. For these reliefs the plaintiff has paid a Court for payable under S.25 (d) of the Tamil Nadu Court-fees and Suite Valuation Act. The Court

below as a preliminary issue found that the court-fee payable is under S.25 (b) and time has been granted to the plaintiff to pay the balance of

court-fee. Aggrieved by this order the plaintiff has filed this Civil Revision Petition.

Here the learned counsel for the revision petitioner-plaintiff contends that the court-fee payable for the reliefs prayed for by the plaintiff comes

under S.25(d) and not 25(b) as held by the Court below. I think the learned counsel is correct.

S.25 (b) relates to the prayer for a declaration and for consequential injunction with reference to any immovable property. In this can there is no

prayer for the relief of declaration and consequential injunction with reference to any immovable property. What is prayed for is, as foreseen,

declaration that the assessment proceedings are void, illegal, irregular, ultra-vires etc., and a consequential relief that the defendants be restrained

from collecting the amount as tax assessed by sale of the plaintiff''s property,

While so praying, the plaintiff has also stated that the defendants shall be prevented from interfering with her peaceful possession and enjoyment

of the properties, by bringing the property to sale. Therefore in essence the relief prayed for by the plaintiff is to declare that the assessment

proceedings and the order passed therein are void and to restrain the defendants from enforcing it. Therefore, clearly the relief sought for cannot be

said to be with reference to any immovable property as mentioned in S.25(b). Hence the court fee paid is correct. In the result the order of the

court below is set aside. The Civil Revision Petition is allowed.