Coonoor Mosque v. M.G. Abdul Hamid Sahib

The Subordinate Judge of the Nilgiris at Ootacamund, is the Controllar for that area, appointed under the Madras Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1949. The petitioner filed two applications before the Subordinate Judge and Rent Controller under S. 7(2) of the Act, to evict certain tenants from the premises of which they were in occupation. On each of those applications, the petitioner affixed a court-fee stamp of the value of Re. 1. The Subordinate Judge directed him to pay a court-fee of Rs. 5 on each application. The petitioner contends that this demand is not in accordance with law and has come to this Court in revision.

Applications of the kind which the petitioner field before the Rent Controller, the Nilgiris, can be brought only under one or other of the following three categories in Sch. II to Madras Act XIV of 1955: (1) Art. 10(k) which runs as follows:

Particulars proper fee “10 (k); Application or petition not falling under Cl. (i) or (j) and presented to a public officer or in a public office and not otherwise provided for— (i) which involves the exercise or non-exercise of power conferred by One law or rule having the force of law: One rupee. (ii) in other casess Four Annas” (2) Art. 11 (g) which runs: “11 (g): Application or petition presented to any Court, or to any Magistrate in his executive capacity and not otherwise provided for is this Act; Twelve Annas” (3) Art. 11(1) which runs as follows: “11(1): Original petition not otherwise provided for when filed in (i) a District Munsif's Court— (1) Under the Madras Village Courts Act, 1888 (Madras Act I of 1880). One rupees. (2) in other cases Five rupees (ii) The City Civil Court, Madras, a Sub Court or a District Court Ten rupees (iii) the High Court Twenty rupees.”

The last item may be at once eliminated because the petitioner presented these applications in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Ootacamund, not because he was the Subordinate Judge of the place, but because he was the Rent Controller. Therefore, the provisions of the schedule properly applicable to Courts of District Munsifs, Subordinate Judges and District Judges are not applicable in the present instance. Under the Madras Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, Government can appoint any person to perform the functions of a Controller under the Act; the person so appointed may be a Tahsildar, he may be a District Munsif or he may be a Revenue Divisional Officer. In fact he may be anybody. Therefore the court-fee payable on applications presented under the Rent Control Act cannot be determined with reference to the office which the officer on whom the power has been conferred holds. If the view of the learned Subordinate Judge were right he should have called for a court-fee of Rs. 10. That he did not do and this involves an inconsistency. It is possible to argue: that the present case comes under Art. 11(g). But then it is to be doubted whether the Rent Controller can be regarded as a Court within the meaning of that Article. If that also is eliminated, we are left only with Art. 10(k) under which the court-fee payable is only Re. 1. The court-fee paid by the petitioner is therefore correct and sufficient.

The revision petition is, therefore, allowed. No costs.

V.C.S