Punjab & Haryana High Court Clarifies Court Fee Liability in Partition Suits; Holds Plaintiff Liable to Pay Ad Valorem Fee Only to Extent of Share Claimed
Case Name: Savitri Devi v. Om Parkash and Others
Date of Judgment: 08 December 2025
Citation: CR-5506-2015
Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vikas Bahl
Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court partly allowed a civil revision petition and held that where a plaintiff seeks declaration of ownership along with consequential relief of possession by way of partition, the plaintiff is liable to pay ad valorem court fee only to the extent of the share claimed and not on the market value of the entire property. The Court set aside the trial court’s direction requiring payment of court fee on the full value of the suit property.
Summary: The petitioner challenged an order directing payment of ad valorem court fee calculated on the market value of the entire house in a suit seeking declaration of ownership and separate possession by way of partition. The plaintiffs claimed ownership to the extent of a defined fractional share and sought partition by metes and bounds along with ancillary reliefs.
The High Court examined the nature of the relief claimed and reiterated the settled position that where a non-executant plaintiff seeks declaration coupled with possession by way of partition, court fee is payable only on the value of the share claimed. Directing payment of court fee on the entire property was held to be contrary to binding precedent and legally unsustainable.
While upholding the requirement of ad valorem court fee, the Court modified the impugned order to the extent that such fee was payable only proportionately to the share claimed, and granted time to the petitioner to comply.
Decision: The civil revision petition was partly allowed. The impugned order was set aside to the extent it required payment of ad valorem court fee on the entire property. The petitioner was directed to pay ad valorem court fee limited to the share claimed within the time granted by the Court.