Holding

The High Court erred in prejudging the appellant's right to mesne profits and in directing the plaint to be returned; the suit must proceed in the High Court and the mesne‑profits issue should be decided at trial.

Summary

The appellant, a landlady, sued the respondent tenant for possession of a flat, arrears of rent and mesne profits of Rs.78,000 after the tenancy was terminated. The High Court, relying on the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, held that the tenant remained a lawful occupant and that the claim for mesne profits was untenable, consequently finding the suit was over‑valued at Rs.1,06,000 and directing the plaint to be returned for filing in a lower court under Order 7 Rule 10 of the CPC. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the High Court could pre‑judge the entitlement to mesne profits and whether the suit had been deliberately over‑valued to obtain jurisdiction. The Court held that the question of mesne profits is a substantive issue that must be decided at trial and that the High Court erred in prejudging it and in ordering the return of the plaint. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed and the suit was directed to proceed in the High Court, with the mesne‑profits issue to be determined afresh.

Issues considered

Whether the High Court was correct in returning the plaint to the appellant for filing in a lower court under Order 7 Rule 10 of the CPC.
Whether the claim for mesne profits/damages could be adjudicated at the preliminary stage or must be decided at trial.
Whether the definition of 'tenant' under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956, includes a person who remains in possession after termination of the contractual tenancy.
Whether the plaintiff deliberately over‑valued the suit to secure jurisdiction of the High Court.

Legislation cited

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908s. Order 7 Rule 10, s. Section 15
Transfer of Property Act, 1882s. Section 106
West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956s. Section 13(6)

Subjects

tenancymesne profitspecuniary jurisdictionvaluation of suitOrder 7 Rule 10landlord-tenant disputecivil procedureovervaluation of suit

Judgment

A SMT. NANDITA BOSE
v.
RAT ANLAL NAHATA

AUGUST 4, 1987

B [E.S. VENKATARAMIAH AND K.N. SINGH, JJ.]
-i
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908-R. 10, 0. 7-Power to return plaint
at any stage of suit for presentation to the proper Court cannot be
exercised at the preliminary stage by prejudging an issue arising in the
suit.
•
c
Upon the respondent-tenant committing default In payment of
rent from June, 1984, the appellant landlady, after serving a notice r
determining the tenancy with effect from 31st January, 1985 and calling
upon him lo deliver possession of the premises in question, filed a suit in
the High Court for recovery of possession, arrears of rent at the rate of
D Rs.1,400 per month and mesne profits/damages at the rate of Rs. 7,800
per month from the date of termination of the tenancy. The respondent ~
filed an application praying that the plaint be taken off from the file of
the High- Court and r~turned to the appellant for filing the same in the
proper Court. The High Court, accepting the plea of the respondent
that under the provisions of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act,
E 1956, the expression 'tenant' included a person continuing in possession
of the accommocjation even after the termination of his contractual
tenancy and on such termination the possession of a tenant did not ~--
become wrongful, held that the appellant was not entitled to claim
mesne profits/damages aggregating to Rs. 78,000 and therefore, the suit
should have been valued at Rs.42,000 and, since no suit the value of
F which was less than Rupees one lakh could have been ftled in the High
"'
Court, directed that the plaint be returned to the appellant for presen-
talion to the proper Court.

Allowing the appeal and directing the High Court to proceed with .,
the hearing of the suit.
G
)...
HELD: On the facts and in the circumstances of the case the High
Court was in error in prejudging the issue relating to the right of the
appellant to claim mesne profits/damages and in directing that the
plaint should be returned for presentation to the proper Court. [797C-D]

H (I) The principles which regulate the pecuniary jurisdiction of

792
NANDITA v. RATANLAL 793

civil courts are well-settled. Ordinarily, the valuation of a suit depends A
upon the reliefs claimed therein and the plaintiff's valuation in his
plaint determines the Court in which it can be presented. Under s. 15,
C.P.C., every plaint should be instituted in the Court of the lowest
grade competent to try it. The Court always has the jurisdiction to
prevent the abuse of the process of law and the plaintiff cannot invoke
the jurisdiction of a Court by either grossly over-valuing or grossly B
under-valuing a suit. Under r. 10 of 0.7, C.P.C., the plaint can be
returned at any stage of the suit for presentation to the Court in which
the suit should have been instituted. [796A-C]

(ii) In the instant case the appellant has claimed a decree for
Rs. 78,000 for the period between 1st February, 1985 and 30th C
November, 1985 on the footing that the respondent's possession was
unauthorised or illegal and l!e was liable to pay mesne profits or
damages. The question whether the appellant would be entitled to a
decree for mesne profits/damages at the rate of Rs. 7,800 per month or
at any other rate after the termination of the tenancy is a matter which
bas to be decided in the suit and it could not have been disposed of at a D
preliminary stage even before the trial had commenced. That question
bas to be decided at the conclusion of the trial along with other issues
arising in the suit. Having regard to some of the decisions on which
reliance is placed by the appellant in the course of the appeal, the
matter is not free from doubt and the claim for mesne profits/damages
is neither palpably absurd nor imaginary. It needs judicial cons!- E
deration. [7960-G]

(iii) The acceptance of the view put forward .by the respondent
may lead to encouraging a tenant who has forfeited his right to the
tenancy to carry on a dilatory litigation without compensating the land-
lord suitably for the loss suffered by him on account of the unreasonable F
deprivation of the possession of his premises over a long period until he
is able to get possession of the premises through the Court. It cannot,
therefore, be stated at this stage that the claim for mesne profits/
damages had been made without good faith and with the sole object of
instituting the said suit before the High Court even though it had no
jurisdiction to try it. [796G-H; 797A] G

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1544
of 1987.

From the Judgment and Order dated 1.9.1986 of the Calcutta
High Court in suit No. 755 of 1985. H
794 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1987) 3 S.C.R.

A S.K. Kapoor, Ranjan Dev, Surendra Dube and Mrs. Indra
Sawhney for the Appellant.
L.N. Sinha and P.P. Singh for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
B VENKATARAMIAH, J. The question involved in this case is
whether the High Court of Calcutta was right in returning the plaint --+
presented by the appellant for presentation to the proper Court under
Order 7 Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (hereinafter -r-"
referred to as 'the Code').
The appellant is the owner of Flat No. 2 (now known as 'F'), 7th
c Floor, Gem Building at 5/B, Russel Street, Calcutta. The said pre-
mises had been leased out in favour of the respondent on a monthly
rent of Rs, 1,400. The respondent committed default in the payment of
rent from the month of June, 1984. The appellant, therefore, served a
notice on the respondent under section 106 of the Transfer of Property
Act, 1882 and section 13(6) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act,
D 1956 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') determining the tenancy
with the expiry of the month of January, ·1985 and called upon him to ~
.... deliver possession of the premises. Upon failure of the respondent to
hand over the vacant possession of the premises on the expiry of
January, 1985 the appellant filed a suit in Suit No. 755 of 1985 on the
Original Side of the High Court of Calcutta for recovery of possession
E of the premises and for recovery of arrears of rent amounting to
Rs. 11,200 and of Rs. 78,000 by way of mesne profits/damages, claiming
mesne profits/damages at the rate of Rs. 7 ,800 per month from !st -..:,'
February, 1985 until 30th November, 1985. The appellant valued the
suit for purposes of court fee and jurisdiction at Rs. l,06,000 which was

F
arrived at as follows: ""'
(i) For purposes of possession -Rs. 16,800/·
( 12 times the monthly rent
of Rs.1400/·)

(ii) For recovery of arrears of -Rs. 11,200/·
G rent upto 31. I. 1985 ;..
(iii) For recovery of mesne -Rs. 78,000/·
profits or damages at
Rs.7,800/· per month from
1.2.1985 to 30.11.1985
H Total: -Rs. l,06,000/·
,
NANDITA v. RATANLAL (VENKATARAMIAH, J.I 795

Any suit, the value of which was above Rs.1,00,000, had to be A
• filed in the High Court on its Original Side. Accordingly, the plaint
was presented in the High Court after paying the necessary court fee·
on the basis of the above valuation. After the respondent was served
with the summons in the suit, he made an application before the High
. Court for taking the plaint off its file and for returning it to the appel-
~. .
Ian! for filing the same in the proper court. The respondent stated in B
the application that on a plain reading of the definition of the expres-
.sion 'tenant in the Act, the respondent continued to be the tenant even
after the termination of his contractual tenancy and did not become an
unauthorised occupant of the accommodation and he was, therefore,
liable to pay rent at the rate of Rs, 1400 per month till the date of the
~ suit. He further stated that calculated on the above basis; the respon- · C
r dent would be liable to pay Rs.14,000 only by way of arrears of rent for
' the period between 1st February, 1985 and 30th November, 1985
instead of Rs. 78,000 claimed by the appellant by way of mesne profits/
damages for the said period. The respondent contended that the valua-
tion of the suit for purposes of jurisdiction would be Rs.42,000 only
and that the value of the suit being less than Rs. l,00,000 it had to be D
j_ filed in. the City Civil Court of Calcutta. The respondent, therefore,
prayed that the plaint should be returned for presentation to the ·
proper court by virtue of section 15 of the Code which provided that ·
every suit should be instituted in the court of the lowest grade compe-
tent to try it. The learned Judge on hearing the above application
accepted the plea of the respondent that under the provisions of the E
Act the expression 'tenant' included a person continuing in possession
of the accommodation even after the termination of his contractual
tenancy and on such termination the possession of a tenant did not
become wrongful. The learned Judge, therefore, held that the appel-
lant was not entitled to claim mesne profits/damages at the rate of
· Rs. 7 ,800 per 'month from 1st February, 1985 to 30th November, 1985 · : F
. aggregating to Rs. 78,000 but was entitled to recover Rs.14,000 only at
the rate of Rs.1,400 per month in respect of that period. The learned
'"': Judge found that the suit should have been valued at Rs.42,000 and
not at Rs.1,06,000 and that the High Court had no jurisdiction to
entertain the said suit. Accordingly, the learned Judge directed that
>- the plaint should be returned to the appellant for presentation to the G
proper court. Aggrieved by the decision of the learned Judge, the
appellant has filed the above appeal by special leave before this Court
under Article 136 of the Constitution.

Under section 15 of the Code every plaint should be instituted in •
the court of the lowest grade competent to try it and if the value of the H
796 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1987] 3 S.C.R.

A suit was Rs.42,000 ouly it had to be filed in the City Civil Court of
Calcutta and not on the Original Side of the High Court. The princi-
ples which regulate the pecuniary jurisdiction of civil courts are well-
settled. Ordinarily, the valuation of a suit depends upon the reliefs
claimed therein and the plaintiff's valuation in his plaint determines
the Court in which it can be presented. It is also true that the plaintiff
B cannot invoke the jurisdiction of a court by either grossly over-valuing
or grossly under-valuing a suit. The Court always has the jurisdiction
to prevent the abuse of the process of law. Under rule 10 of Order 7 of
the Code the plaint can be returned at any stage of the suit for presen-
tation to the court in which the suit should have been instituted. The
question for consideration in this case is whether in the present case
c the plaint has been grossly over-valued with the object of bringing it
within the jurisdiction of the High Court. When the suit is filed for the
recovery of money, the amount claimed has to be included in deter-
mining the value of the suit. In the instant case the appellant has
claimed a decree for Rs.78,000 (at the rate of Rs.7,800 per month) for
the period between !st February, 1985 and 30th November, 1985 on
D the footing that the respondent's possession was unauthorised or
illegal and he was liable to pay mesne profits or damages. The question
whether the appellant would be entitled to a decree for mesne profits/
damages at the rate of Rs. 7 ,800 per month or at any other rate after
the termination of the tenancy is a matter which has to be decided in
the suit. If ultimately it is found that the appellant is not entitled to get
E mesne profits or damages for the period subsequent to !st February,
1985 and that she is only entitled to receive Rs.1,400 per month, the
suit in respect of the claim over and above Rs.1,400 per month, will
have to be dismissed. But the question whether she was entitled to
claim mesne profits or damages in respect of the period subsequent to
!st February, 1985 could not have been disposed of at a preliminary
stage even before the trial had commenced. That question has to be
decided at the conclusion of the trial along with other issues arising in
the suit. Having regard to some of the decisions on which reliance is
placed by the appellant in the course of the appeal we are of the view
that the matter is not free from doubt. The claim for mesne profits/
damages is neither palpably absurd nor imaginary. It needs judicial
G consideration. The acceptance of the view put forward by the respon-
dent may lead to encouraging a tenant who has forfeited his right to
the tenancy to carry on a dilatory litigation without compensating the
landlord suitably for the loss suffered by him on account of the un-
reasonable deprivation of the possession of his premises over a long
period until he is able to get possession of the premises through the
H Court. We cannot, therefore, state at this stage that the claim for
NANDITA v. RATANLAL (VENKATARAMIAH, J.) 797

mesne profits/damages had been made without good faith and with the A
sole object of instituting the said suit before the High Court of
Calcutta even though it had no jurisdiction to try it. We do not agree
with the submission made on behalf of the respondent that the appel-
lant had "dishonestly and intentionally inflated the value of the suit in
order to invite the jurisdiction of a particular court which has no
t- junsdiction otherwise." If mesne profits/damages are found to be pay- B
able then the claim made at the rate of Rs. 7,800 per month for a
premises of the nature in question which is situated in Calcutta does
not appear to be fanciful having regard to the prevailing situation. We
however express no opinion on the actual amount that may be

- awarded as mesne profits/damages in the event of the liability to pay it
being established. C

We are of the view that on the facts and in the circumstances of
the case the High.Court was in error in prejudging the issue relating to
the right of the appellant to claim mesne profits/damages and in direct-
ing that the plaint should be returned for presentation to the proper D
court. We, therefore, set aside the order passed by the High Court and
-""( direct the High Court to proceed with the hearing of the suit. We also
direct that the observations made by the learned Judge in the course of
the order against which this appeal is filed regarding the right of the
appellant to claim the mesne profits/damages at the rate of Rs. 7,800
per month shall not be binding on the parties and that the said question
shall be decided afresh by the High Court in the course of the trial. E
_ _.......We, however, express no opinion on the correctness or otherwise of
,., · the observations made by the learned Judge on the .above question.

'.,.-· The appeal is accordin,gly allowed.

H.L.C. Appeal allowed. F