VENKATACHAUAH - (1.) THE point in these appeals is the recurring and vexed theme of the policy and legality of the levy of court fees - ad valorem on the value or amount of the subject matter of suits and appeals without the prescription of any upper limit under the provisions of the Karnataka court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1958 ('Karnataka Act for short), the Rajasthan court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1961 (Act 23 of 1961 ('Rajasthan Act' for short) and the Bombay court Fees Act, 1959 ('Bombay Act for short).
(2.) SO far as the 'Bombay Act is concerned, the point raised in the concerned appeals is a limited one, confined to the question of the validity of S. 29(1 read with entry 10 of the First Schedule to the 'Bombay Act' which, without reference to the upper limit of court fee of Rs. 15,000.00 prescribed for all other suits and proceedings, requires payment of ad valorem court fee on proceedings for grants of probate and letters of administration. One of the grounds of challenge so far as this provision in the 'Bombay Act is concerned, is the constitutional impermissibility of an unlimited exaction by way of court fee, which is common to other appeals as well. The other contention against the validity of S. 29(1 read with entry 10 of the First Schedule to the 'Bombay Act is based on Article 14 of the Constitution on the ground of discrimination as between the proceedings for grant of probate and letters of administration on the one hand and all other suits and proceedings respecting which an upper limit of Rs. 15,000.00 is fixed under the statute, on the other. The present batch of appeals and special leave petitions comprise of a large number of cases arising under the said three statutes. We may, however, refer to the facts of some of the cases which could be taken to be typical and representative of all other cases of each group. Special Leave Petition No. 13344 of 1988 typifies, and is representative of the appeals and special leave petitions that arise out of the Rajasthan court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1961. The petition arises out of and is directed against the common order dated 16/10/1987 of the division bench of the Rajasthan High court in division bench Civil Writ Petition No. 474 of 1984 and a large number of Writ Petition involving the same question. In Writ Petition No. 474 of 1984, the present appellant the State Bank of India challenged before the High court the constitutional validity of the provisions of S. 20 read with Article 1 Schedule I of the 'Rajasthan Act' which prescribed and authorised the levy of court fees on plaints or written statements pleading a set-off or counter-claim or memoranda of appeals presented to courts an uniform ad valorem impost of Rs. 5.00 for every Rs. 100.00 or part thereof on the amount or value of the subject matter in excess of Rs. 5,000.00 . On the first slab of Rs, 5,000.00, however, certain rates are also prescribed.
(3.) WE may, briefly, trace the course of development of the law as to court fee in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan Ordinance 9 of 1950, adapted and extended to the territories of Rajasthan, with effect from 1/03/1950, the court Fees Act, 1870 (Central Act, 1870. The provisions of the central Act, as adapted and extended to Rajasthan, were amended from time to time till 1/11/1961 when the present 'Rajasthan Act was enacted and promulgated. Prior to 1/11/1961, as the law then stood, the levy of court fee was subject to the maximum of Rs. 7,500.00. This ceiling was done away with under the present 'Rajasthan Act and court fee ad valorem at 5 per cent, without any upper limit, was imposed under the impugned provisions. On 25/04/1984 the appellant-bank instituted, in the court of District Judge, Jaipur City, a suit for recovery of a sum of Rs. 5,04,75,826.00 from the defendant in the suit viz., the Jaipur Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd. The court fee payable on the said plaint under S. 20 read with Article 1 of Schedule I of the 'Rajasthan Act was stated to be Rs. 25,23,860.00. Incidentally, it was pointed out by Shri F.S. Nariman, learned Sr. Adv. for the appellant that the court fee payable on this plaint alone would amount approximately to one-seventh of the total estimated collection of court fee for the year 1983-84 which was estimated at Rs. 176.41 lakhs in the State.;