Smt. Vijay Rani vs Sh. Nasib Chand Sharma

Gokal Chand Mital, J.—Nasib Chand''s suit for specific performance was decreed by the trial Court against Smt. Vijay Rani. Smt. Vijay Rani filed an appeal before the Distt. Judgs as an indigent person as she was not possessed of sufficient means to pay the court fees payable on the memorandum of appeal. On behalf of the plaintiff-respondent, it was argued that he had deposited Rs. 85,000/ in Court in compliance with the decree of the trial Court for specific performance and that amount was available to Smt. Vijay Rani, and out of that amount she could pay court fees on the appeal. The learned Distt. Judge did not agree with the aforesaid submission and directed that the court concerned be asked to send a voucher for Rs. 3714.60. for which the requisite court fees will be purchased. This revision is directed against the aforesaid order.

A reading of Order XXXIII, rule I, Explanation I (a), Civil Procedure Code, would show that the subject-matter of the suit is not to be taken into consideration in order to find out whether a person is possessed of sufficient means to pay the court fees, and, even the Distt. Judge did not come to the conclusion that she is not an indigent person, but issued direction as stated above, which is not in accordance with.

Since the amount deposited in Court is subject-matter of the suit and the petitioner has no other means to pay the court fees, she is clearly an indigent person and was entitled to appeal as such.

For the reasons recorded above, the revision is allowed and the order of the Distt. Judge dated June 2, 1989 is set aside with the direction to entertain the appeal of Smt. Vijay Rani as an indigent person and to dispose of the same expeditiously.

The parties are directed through their counsel to appear before the learned Distt. Judge, Ludhiana, on February 14, 1990.

The application and the revision stand disposed of.