Suit by Non-Executant for Declaration of Deed as Void is Valuable under Section 24(d), Not Section 38

The Petitioner (plaintiff) filed a suit (O.S.No.25826/2021) seeking a declaration that a "cancellation of gift deed" dated 29.10.2018 was null and void

The property originally belonged to the plaintiff’s mother, who gifted it to respondent No. 1 (son); respondent No. 1 then gifted it to their father, Ramanna, in 2017

Ramanna subsequently gifted the property to the Petitioner/plaintiff in August 2018, but later purportedly executed a cancellation deed of the 2017 gift in October 2018

The plaintiff, being a non-party to the cancellation deed, valued the suit under Section 24(d) of the Karnataka Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1958

The Trial Court rejected this valuation, directing the plaintiff to pay court fees under Section 38 (cancellation of instruments) based on the market value of the property

1. Whether the petitioner/plaintiff is liable to pay the Court fee by valuing the suit under Section 24(d) or Section 38 of the Act?

The Court applied Section 24(d) of the Karnataka Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1958, which governs court fees for declaratory suits where the subject matter is not otherwise provided for

Section 38 applies specifically to suits for the "cancellation" of documents

Supreme Court precedent Suhrid Singh @ Sardool Singh v. Ranbir Singh & Ors, which established that if a non-executant seeks to annul a deed, they must seek a declaration (requiring a fixed fee), whereas an executant must seek cancellation (requiring ad-valorem fee)

Venkatesh S v. State of Karnataka, affirming that a person not party to an instrument seeking a declaration that said instrument is non-binding can resort to valuation under Section 24(d)

The classification of a suit for court fee purposes depends on whether the plaintiff is a party to the instrument being challenged

If the plaintiff is a party (executant), the relief—regardless of how it is worded—is substantively for "cancellation" under Section 38

if the plaintiff is a non-party (non-executant), the relief is for a "declaration" that the document is void/non-binding

In this case, the "cancellation of gift deed" dated 29.10.2018 was executed between Defendant No. 1 and the deceased father; the plaintiff was not a signatory/party to that specific document

the Court found that the plaintiff properly sought a declaration under Section 24(d) rather than cancellation under Section 38

The Court set aside the Trial Court's order dated 22.02.2022, which had demanded fees under Section 38. The writ petition was allowed, and the original valuation and court fee paid by the plaintiff were deemed sufficient