B. Dayal, J. - (1.) THIS is a revision by a landlord in a suit filed by the tenant for reduction of rent. The agreed rent was Rs. 60/ - per month which comes to Rs. 720/ - a year. The Plaintiff claimed that the rent should be reduced to Rs. 25/ - per month which comes to less than Rs. 500/ - a year. The case was tried by a civil Judge and the first ground raised by the learned Counsel for the applicant is that the civil Judge has no jurisdiction to try the suit. On this point there has been a series of decisions of this Court and it has been repeatedly held that the phrase, used in Section 5(4) of the (Temporary) Control of Rent and Eviction Act, "if the annual rent claimed or payable is Rs. 500/ - or less" means what the Plaintiff has claimed as payable. Therefore the forum depends not upon what was agreed rent but upon the claim of the Plaintiff. It is enough to cite the case of Srimati Chandi Rani v. Chaitram Mukhi, 1953 AWR (H.C.) 669.
(2.) IT was argued by the learned Counsel for the opposite party that in any case a court of higher jurisdiction has tried the suit and therefore it is not proper to interfere in revision, particularly when the question of jurisdiction was not raised before that court. The section does not create a higher court as the concurrent court for trying all suits. The language of Section 15, Code of Civil Procedure is quite different from the language used in this section. In this section two distinct courts have been created for suits in which the claim is Rs. 500/ - or less and suits in which he claim is more. This exclusive jurisdiction cannot be taken away from one court or conferred upon another by the consent of the parties. Therefore whether an objection was taken or not is immaterial. In this I am supported by an unreported decision of a single Judge of this Court in Maula Bux v. Khub Chand Civil -Revision No. 1019 of 1951, decided on 11 -3 -1957. I, therefore, allow this revision, set aside the judgment of the court below and return the plaint for presentation to the proper court. Costs will abide the result.;