KALICHARAN GUPTA Vs. PRAG DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal under Section 6-A of the Court Fees Act.

(2.) ONE Bhagwan Das executed his last will and testament on 22nd Febru ary 1965. He died on 14th April 1968. The will named the appellant Kali Cha-ran as the executor. The executor ap plied for the grant of probate to him. In the application he mentioned that the property involved in the will is a Dharamshala belonging to a charitable trust established in 1912 and by the said will the testator laid down a scheme of management in respect of the said trust and that no court fee is payable there for. In the Schedule A attached to the application, the valuation of the trust property was given as Rs. 80,000 and in Schedule B the details of liability in the said trust property was mentioned as Rs. 11515-90. The applica tion for probate was contested by the respondents. One of the grounds taken was that the appellant was liable to pay court fees for the application on the basis of the valuation of the property involved in it, i. e. Rs. 68,500. On this, the court framed an issue and came to the conclusion that the appellant was liable to pay Rs. 2588.75 as court fee under Article 11 of Schedule I of the Court Fees Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and the valuation of the property was fixed at Rs. 66,500. Hence this appeal.

(3.) THE position that trust pro perty is not liable to be included in computing the valuation of the proper ties upon which court fee has to be paid is corroborated by the Third Sche dule. Annexure A of that schedule deals with valuation of moveable and Immovable properties of the deceased, while Annexure B is the schedule of debts, etc. One of the items mentioned in Annexure B is: