Law:

Section: 7

Court Fees Act (VII of 1870)-- ----S. 7(i) [as amended by North-West Frontier Province (Court Fees) (Amendment) Ordinance (IV of 1982), Sched. II, Art. 22---North-West Frontier Province Court Fee (Abolition) Ordinance (XIV of 1978), S. 2---Fatal Accidents Act (XIII of 1855), S. 1---Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 199---North-West Frontier Province Court Fees (Amendment) Ordinance, 1982, through which S.7, Court Fees Act, 1870 was amended, whether in any manner had interfered with the abolition of court-fee provided for under S.2, North-West Frontier Province Court Fee (Abolition) Ordinance 1978---Under S.7(i) as amended, although court-fee would be leviable on the suit according to the amount claimed, yet no court-fee would be leviable where amount claimed did not exceed twenty-five thousand rupees---Order passed in revision whereby plaintiff was directed to pay court-fee on the amount claimed, was declared to be illegal and without lawful authority. Amendment brought about in provision of S.7(i), Court Fees Act, 1870 from time to time would clearly show that section 2 of North-West Frontier Province Court Fee (Abolition) Ordinance, 1978, whereby court-fee was abolished in the category of cases referred to therein by Ordinance of 1978, had not been , interfered with by the subsequent amendments. The words "Notwithstanding anything contained in the Court Fees Act of 1870" in section 2 are significant in the context of the present dispute. Section 7(i) of the Act, no doubt, provides for levy of ad valorem court-fee on suits for money including that for damages or compensation but it was through the amending Ordinance of 1982 that those suits in which damages or compensation were claimed under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 were specially excluded therefrom, therefore, it had even then to be read subject to section 2 which pertained to abolition of court-fee. For the suits where damages or compensation were claimed under the Fatal Accidents Act, which had been excluded from the purview of section 7(i) a provision had been made by addition of Article 22 in Schedule II of the Act, and a fixed court-fee of Rs.15 was made leviable on the plaint or…