Judgment:
Pradipta Ray, J.
1. The petitioner filed an application in the court of the District Judge, Cuttack for grant of letters of administration in her favour on the strengh of a registered Will dated February 24, 1989 executed by her mother-in-law. The said application was registered as Misc. Case No. 19 of 1995. The petitioner, who is a lady, filed an application for exemption of the court fee payable in the said misc. case on the basis of the State Government's notification being S.R.O. No. 575 of 1994 dated June 7, 1934. By order dated February 12, 1996 the District Judge, Cuttack granted exemption from payment of Court fee. However, subsequently he recalled that order of exemption in view of this High Court's decision in Sharmila Das v. State of Orissa, reported in Vol. 85 (1998) C. L. T.--520.
2. Sharmila Das's case relates to an application for grant of Succession Certificate Under Section 372 of the Indian Succession Act,1925 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act').. Relying on the provisions of Section 379 of the said Act, it has been held in Sharmila Das's case that sum required to be deposited with the application for a Succession Certificate is not Court fee on the application for Succession Certificate and as such the benefit of notification dated June 7, 1994 cannot be extended to the said sum, required to be deposited Under Section 379(1) of the Act. It appears that Hon'ble Justice P. K. Misra in a subsequent decision in Soudamini Das and Ors. v. State of Orissa, reported in Vol. 85 (1998) C. L. T. 524 has taken a different view and granted exemption from payment of the sum required to be deposited Under Section 379(1) of the said Act. I understand that the said question has been referred to the Division Bench to resolve the Conflict.
3. The present case, however, is not a case of grant of Succession Certificate. It is an application for grant of letters of administration Under Section 278 of the Act, Section 19(1) of the Court-Fees Act, 1870 deals with payment of Court-fees in respect of probates and letters of administration. The said section provides :-
'19-I. Payment of Court-fees in respect of probates and letters of administration--(1) No order entitling the petitioner to the grant of probate or letters of administration shall be made upon an application for such grant until the petitioner has filed in the Court a valuation of the property in the form set forth in the third schedule and the Court is satisfied that the fee mentioned in No. 11 of the first schedule has been paid on such valuation.'
Entry No 11 of the First Schedule as amended by the Court-fees (Orissa Amendment) Act, 1958 prescribes the Court-fees to be paid on an application for probate of a Will or letters of administration. The Court-fee payable is related to the estimated value of the property in respect of which grant of probate or letters of administration is claimed. There is no provision like Section 379 of the Act governing grant of probate or letters of administration. Court-fees Act, however, contains provisions like Sections 19A and 19E. Section 19A provides for repayment of any excessCourt-fee upon application where too high a Court-fee has been paid on the basis of estimated value of the property involved. Section 19E provides for realisation of appropriate Court-fee with penalty, where too low a Court-fee has been paid on application for probate or letters of administration.
4. Unlike an application for a Succession Certificate and in absence of any provision like Section 379 of the Act, the Court-fee required to be paid under Entry No. 11 of the First Schedule of the Orissa Court-Fees (Amendment) Act, 1958 is a Court-fee payable for filing an application for probate or letters of administration. Thus, the notification dated June 7, 1994 is attracted to the Court-fee payable for filing an application for grant of probate or letters of administration.
5. For the foregoing reasons, the impugned order is setaside and the petitioner is exempted from payment of Court-feeon her application for grant of letters of administration.
6. Application allowed.