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Section 9: Power to ascertain net profits or market-value

Court Fees Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1870
Section 8 All 36 Sections Schedules I & II Section 10

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 9

Section 9 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 empowers civil courts to hold an inquiry, issue commissions, and inspect records to ascertain the correct net profits or market-value of property involved in a suit for court fee determination.

  • Court's Power of Inquiry: If the Court sees reason to think that the annual net profits or the market-value of any land or property has been wrongly estimated by the plaintiff.
  • Appointment of Commission: The Court may issue a commission to any proper person directing them to make such local or other investigation as may be necessary and to report to the Court.
  • Interlocutory Investigation: Aimed strictly at determining correct fiscal valuation for court fees, not at deciding substantive ownership titles.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • S. Rm. Ar. S. Sp. Sathappa Chettiar v. S. Rm. Ar. Rm. Ramanathan Chettiar, AIR 1958 SC 245: The Supreme Court authoritatively held that where the statute allows the plaintiff to value the relief, that valuation governs; the court can intervene under Section 9 only where objective statutory criteria of market value are violated.
  • Suhrid Singh v. Randhir Singh, (2010) 12 SCC 112: Reaffirmed that valuation must be tested based on the nature of the suit (cancellation of deed by executant vs. non-executant declaration).
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Oppose defense applications for Section 9 market-value inquiries in partition or declaratory suits by establishing that the plaintiff is not an executant and is claiming relief based on fixed court-fee provisions under Schedule II.

Section 8 All 36 Sections Schedules I & II Section 10