Special statutory relief under Section 31(1) attracts fixed court fee, not ad valorem fee, under Bombay Court Fees Act.

An application under Section 31(1) of the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951 seeks only limited statutory reliefs, such as sale of secured property, transfer of management, or restraint against removal of machinery, and is not a plaint for recovery of mortgage money. Because those reliefs are not uniformly capable of monetary valuation and the proceeding is not a civil suit for money recovery, ad valorem court fee under Article 1 of Schedule I or Article 7 of Schedule I of the Bombay Court Fees Act, 1959 does not apply. The application falls instead within the residuary Article 1(c) of Schedule II and attracts only the fixed fee.

---

---

Issues: Whether an application under Section 31(1) of the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951 is chargeable to ad valorem court fee under Article 1 of Schedule I or Article 7 of Schedule I of the Bombay Court Fees Act, 1959, or whether it falls under the residuary Article 1(c) of Schedule II of that Act.

Analysis: Section 31(1) creates a special statutory remedy enabling the Financial Corporation to seek limited reliefs such as sale of secured property, transfer of management, or an injunction against removal of machinery. The proceeding is not a plaint for recovery of mortgage money and does not seek a money decree for outstanding dues. The reliefs under Section 31(1) are not uniformly capable of monetary valuation, particularly where management transfer or injunction is sought. Section 32 only provides an interim protective mechanism, a limited inquiry into the Corporation's claim, and a mode of execution after attachment or sale is made absolute; it does not convert the proceeding into a civil suit for money recovery. As the application is neither a plaint within Article 1 nor an application for substantive relief capable of being valued in terms of monetary gain or loss under Article 7, the residuary provision applies.

Conclusion: The application under Section 31(1) is not chargeable to ad valorem court fee and is governed by Article 1(c) of Schedule II of the Bombay Court Fees Act, 1959, attracting the fixed fee.

Ratio Decidendi: A special statutory application seeking only the limited reliefs conferred by Section 31(1) of the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951 is not a money recovery proceeding and does not attract ad valorem court fee unless the governing court-fee statute expressly brings such a proceeding within a charging provision.

---