Subject: need clarification on court fees for partition suit in tamil nadu

Court fee for partition suit is Rs. 10,000 if the suit is filed in High Court. 

It is Rs. 5,000 in all Courts other than High Court. 

This is as per amended court fee act as amended in the year 2017. 

Act 6 of 2017. 

Tamil Nadu Court Fees and Suits Valuation (Amendment) Act, 2017. 

Several amendments were made to the court fee act. 

Section 37 dealing with partition suits has also been amended. 

As per these amendments, the court fee for partition suit is Rs. 10,000 for High Court and Rs. 5,000 for all other Courts other than High Court.  

Thanks 

Who is in possession of the property? If you or any of the legal representatives of the original owner is in possession, it is deemed to be in joint possession of all the legal representatives i.e. descendants of your grand father, even if you are not in actual physical possession. 

The law is: POSSESSION BY ONE CO-OWNER IS POSSESSION BY ALL CO-OWNERS. 

Even if you are not in actual physical possession of the property, you are deemed to be in joint possession of the property. 

In a partition suit, we always state that all of us are in joint possession of the property. That is the normal pleading. 

Usually, nobody pleads that he is out of possession. If he is out of possession, then he has to pay court fee on the market value of the property, which can be quite high. 

Usually, whoever is filing the partition suit always pleads that he is in joint possession of the porperty, and he pays a fixed court fee of Rs. 5,000 or Rs. 10,000 as explained in my previous reply. 

It is the opponent who usually pleads that you are not in joint possession and demands that you should pay a court fee based on market value. He should be able to prove it and usually it is extermely difficult in partition suits, because of the law that POSSESSION BY ONE CO-OWNER IS POSSESSION BY ALL CO-OWNERS. 

Finally, is there a dispute among the family members? If there is no dispute, you draft a partition deed and register it. 

In Tamil Nadu, for a partition suit where the plaintiff is in joint possession of the property, the court fee is fixed at Rs. 300 for suits filed in a District Munsif's Court. For suits filed in the City Civil Court, Chennai, or a Sub-Court, or a District Court, the court fee is Rs. 250 if the market value of the property is Rs. 30,000 or less; Rs. 500 if it is above Rs. 30,000 but below Rs. 1 lakh; and Rs. 750 if it is Rs. 1 lakh or above. For suits in the High Court, the court fee is Rs. 1000. 

Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy 

www.tnsja.tn.gov.in

311.pdf

27 Feb 2017

When we search for Tamil Nadu Court Fees Act on Google, the above page appears in the search results. 

Is it authentic or not?

Whether the Tamil Nadu Court Fees Act not amended after 1955?

Tamilnadu court fee and suit valuation act has been amended many times and it is subjected to periodical amendments. 

You can  search the government website for more details.

Different answers were given by different advocates in the above posts. 

Which answer is correct?

I came across an order of the Madras High Court. 

C.R.P.(PD)(MD) No. 1725 of 2021

BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

DATED : 11.11.2021

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE P.T.ASHA

Chellathangam Versus Kumaresan and others

In this order, the issue is about the pecuniary jurisdiction of the partition suit. 

The court fee is not an issue in this suit. 

However, it is mentioned on page No. 3 of the order as follows: 

"for partition of plaintiff share in a joint possession fixed court fee Rs.5,000/- other than High Court." 

Though the issue in the above Civil Revision Petition is not court fee, it mentions that the court fee is R. 5,000 in Courts other than the High Court. 

The answer to the query is you need to pay only a fixed court fee of Rs. 10,000 if the suit is filed in High Court and a fixed court fee of Rs. 5,000 if the suit is filed in any other Court other than the High Court. 

In partition suits, fixed court fee alone is normally paid. Paying court fees based on guideline value is very very unusual. It is not the normal practice. It may be necessary only in extraordinary special circumstances. There is no hint of such circumstances in your query. It is very likely that the advice given by your lawyer is wrong. Please be cautious with that lawyer.