Singasan Tewari and another vs Gaya Tewari

James, J.—This is an application for revision of the order of the District Judge of Saran rejecting a memorandum of appeal under S. 3, Limitation Act. The memorandum should have borne a court-fee stamp of Re. 1 but the stamp was only of 12 annas. Limitation expired on the day when the appeal was filed; but the District Judge did not reject the memorandum under S. 6, Court-fees Act, but noted that the pleader Would be heard on the question of the deficit. On the following day the deficit court-fee was filed; it was accepted in the District Judge''s office and the stamp was cancelled and placed with the record of the case. The learned District Judge when he heard the pleader rejected the appeal, though it is not clear whether he rejects it under S. 6, Court-fees Act, or dismisses it under S. 3, Limitation Act.

When the memorandum of appeal was filed, it was open to the District Judge to reject it at once as a document insufficiently stamped and if he did not at once reject it, it was open to him to allow the deficit to be made good, whether the document had been accepted by in advertence, or whether time had been expressly allowed under S. 149, Civil P.C., but in either event when he did allow the deficit to be made good within the period during which the question of the admission of the appeal was before him, the effect of the acceptance of the deficit court-fee was that the memorandum of appeal must be treated as if it had been sufficiently stamped on the day| of presentation. On 12th December when the District Judge''s order was made, the memorandum could not be rejected as being insufficiently stamped, because it was then sufficiently stamped owing to the action of the Court in accepting the court-fee when tendered; and it could not be dismissed as barred by limitation, because the effect of the acceptance of the deficit court-fee was that the memorandum of appeal must be treated as if it bad been sufficiently stamped on the day of presentation.

The order of the District Judge rejecting the memorandum of appeal is therefore set aside and the appeal is remitted to him for disposal according to law.