- (1.) This is plaintiffs' revision petition directed against the order dated 2.6.1977 of the Subordinate Judge Second Class, Ambala, whereby issue No. 1 in the suit pertaining to the value of the suit for the purpose of Court-fee and jurisdiction was treated as a preliminary issue and decided against the plaintiffs. The trial Court held that the Court-fee shall be payable on the market value of the property in dispute.
(2.) The contention advanced before the trial Court was that ad valorem Court-fee was not payable on the property in dispute for the reason that clause (b) of Section 2 of the Haryana Act No. 22 of 1974 amending Section 7 of the Court Fees Act, 1870, was applicable, as the property in dispute was 'land' and situated outside the Abadi Deh, as also the municipal limits. The trial Court, while disagreeing with the above submission, inter-alia, held that it was not proved that the property in dispute, even when considered to be 'land' stood outside the Abadi Deh. The trial Court, however, primarily rested its decision on the assertions of the plaintiffs in the plaint that they had purchased the property in dispute for Rs. 10,000/- and that at the time of filing of the suit shops and khokhas stood constructed thereon and held that ad-valorem Court-fee was payable as required by clause (b) of Section 2, aforesaid.
(3.) Clause (b) of Section 2 of the Haryana Act No. 22 of 1974 is in the following terms :- "2. Amendment of Section 7 of Act 7 of 1870. - In Section 7 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), for sub-clauses (a) and (b) of clause (v), the following sub-clauses shall be substituted namely :- (a) ... ... ... ... ... ... (b) where the subject-matter is house, garden, or land situated within municipal limits or Abadi Deh whether under cultivation or not, according to its market value; ... ... ...". 3 A perusal of the aforesaid provision would reveal that it takes into its sweep three categories of properties for the payment of ad-valorem Court-fee - (1) house, (2) garden, and (3) land situated within municipal limits or Abadi Deh, whether cultivated or not cultivated. In the present case, admittedly the land stood constructed upon and, therefore, it would not fall into the category of 'land' but it would fall into the category of 'house' property.;