- (1.) By way of the instant writ petition, the petitioner has beseeched to quash and set-aside the order dated 8th July, 2011, whereby the learned Additional District Judge No.1, Sikar directed the petitioner-plaintiff to pay the deficient court fee on the amount holding the value of the property to be Rs. 3 crores 25 lakhs.
(2.) Having considered the submissions made at the bar and carefully perused the relevant material on record, it is noticed that the petitioner-plaintiff Imortal Infrastructure Private Limited filed a suit for cancellation of sale deed against the Lookwell Life Space Pvt. Ltd. and others in the court of Additional District Judge No.1, Sikar. During the pendency of the suit, the respondent-defendant filed an application under Order 7 Rule 11(b) CPC stating that the petitioner-plaintiff himself had admitted in para no. 8(b) of the plaint Rs. 3 crores 25 lakhs to be the market value of the property in dispute, whereas the plaintiff is found to have filed the court fees only of Rs. 2,77,135/- on valuation of Rs. 80.00 lakhs.
(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner canvassed that the sale deed, which has been prayed to be cancelled was executed for a consideration of Rs. 80.00 lakhs. Hence, the value for the purpose of the suit shall be the subject matter of the instrument and not the market value in view of Section 38 of the Rajasthan Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act. Learned counsel further took me through the provisions of Section 38(1)(a) of the Rajasthan Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act and contended that Section 38(1) provided that in a suit for cancellation of a decree for money or other property having a money value or other document which purports or operates to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest in money, movable or immovable property, fee shall be computed on the value of the subject-matter of the suit and such value shall be deemed to be - (a) if the whole decree or other document is sought to be cancelled, the amount or value of the property for which the decree was passed or other document was executed, and not the market value of the property. Learned counsel placed reliance on the one judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court delivered in the case of Sathee Devi Versus Prasanna and Another, 2010 AIR(SC) 2777.;