The Supreme Court on June 16, 2022 in the matter of Bharat Bhushan Gupta v. Pratap Narain Verma And Anr., held that the nature of relief claimed in a plaint is decisive of the valuation of the suit. Market value does not become decisive of suit valuation merely because immovable property is the subject-matter of litigation. The Apex Court further stated that it is trite law that a suit for mandatory and prohibitory injunction is not required to be valued at the market value of the property.

In the instant matter, the appellant instituted a suit before the court of Senior Civil Judge, South West District, Dwarka, New Delhi for injunction and recovery of damages against his elder brother and his Munshi. His elder brother was a licensee, utilising the concerned property which was owned by the appellant for storage purposes. Later, he sought permission from the appellant to allow his Munshi to stay in the concerned property until the time the appellant requires it. Thereafter, when the appellant had asked them to vacate the property, his brother and his Munshi refused. The appellant served legal notices in August, 2016 asking them to vacate the concerned property and warned that he would claim damages for unauthorised use in case they stayed beyond the expiry of the notice period. Gauging that they have no intention to vacate the premises, the appellant had filed the said suit. As the matter came up for hearing, the Munshi alleged that the concerned property did not belong to the appellant and the suit was instituted on the basis of forged documents and solely with the purpose to grab the property. He further alleged that the plan was hatched by the appellant in connivance with his elder brother. The Munshi also filed an application under Order XIV Rule 5 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 seeking orders for framing additional issues, which was dismissed by the Trial Court. He had again filed an Order VII Rule 11 application stating that the value of the property at the time of filing of the suit (Rs. 1.8 crores) as admitted by the appellant reflected that the Trial Court did not have the jurisdiction to adjudicate the suit. The application was rejected with costs and was subsequently assailed before the Delhi High Court.

The Supreme Court noted that the valuation of the suit depends on the nature of the relief claimed. Merely because the subject matter of the litigation involves an immovable property, market value would not become decisive of the suit valuation. The Court observed that in the present case, a mandatory injunction had been sought by the appellant seeking the licensees to remove themselves and their belongings from the concerned property. It noted that the appellant had valued the suit for the purpose of Court fees and jurisdiction at Rs. 250 for each of the reliefs for injunction and Rs. 1lakh for damages and accordingly paid the court fees. It was of the view that the High Court had erred in not considering the unquestionable principle of law that a suit for mandatory and prohibitory injunction is not required to be valued at the market value of the property.