Deficient court fee on a timely appeal can be cured retrospectively, preserving pending status from original filing.

A memorandum of appeal filed within limitation but carrying deficient court fee is not treated as ineffective if the deficiency is later cured under the court's order. Section 149 of the Code of Civil Procedure operates retrospectively, so once the deficit is made good within the permitted time, the appeal is validated from the date of original presentation. The Code and the Court Fees Act, 1870 must be read harmoniously, and the curative effect of Section 149 prevents the appeal from being regarded as nonexistent before payment. Accordingly, a special appeal presented before the abolition statute was treated as pending and not barred.

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Issues: Whether a special appeal presented before the abolition of Letters Patent Appeals, but initially carrying deficient court fee and later made good under the court's order, was to be treated as pending on the relevant date so as to survive the statutory bar.

Analysis: An appeal is instituted by presentation of a memorandum of appeal in the prescribed form. Where the memorandum is filed within limitation but bears deficient court fee, the defect does not destroy the appeal if the court permits the deficiency to be supplied and the deficiency is in fact made good. Section 149 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 operates with retrospective effect: once the deficient fee is paid within the time allowed, the memorandum is treated as valid from the date of its original presentation. The provisions of the Code and the Court Fees Act, 1870 are to be read harmoniously, and the curative effect of Section 149 prevents the appeal from being treated as nonexistent until the later payment date.

Conclusion: The special appeal was pending from the date it was first presented and was not defeated by the subsequent abolition statute; the objection to maintainability failed.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was held maintainable and the High Court was directed to hear the special appeal on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: A memorandum of appeal filed within time but deficient in court fee becomes effective from the date of original presentation once the deficiency is cured under Section 149 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and must be treated as pending from that date for all legal purposes.

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