Proportionate costs in appeal: court-fees follow the claim allowed, while advocate's fees are taxed on the whole claim and apportioned.

In partly successful appeals where proportionate costs are awarded, court-fees are taxed on the claim actually allowed in the appeal, because they are governed by the prescribed fee slab and should reflect the relief obtained. Advocate's fees are treated differently: they are taxed on the entire appellate claim and then apportioned between the parties according to their respective success, since they represent indemnity for expenses incurred by both sides in the appeal. The decision distinguishes the two heads of costs by their nature and incidence, and affirms the established method of taxation for each.

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Issues: (i) Whether, where an appellate court awards proportionate costs in a partly successful appeal, court-fees are to be taxed on the claim actually allowed or by apportioning the court-fees paid on the whole claim according to the percentage of success. (ii) Whether advocate's fees are to be taxed on the amount of claim actually allowed or disallowed, or on the whole claim in appeal and thereafter apportioned according to success.

Issue (i): Whether, where an appellate court awards proportionate costs in a partly successful appeal, court-fees are to be taxed on the claim actually allowed or by apportioning the court-fees paid on the whole claim according to the percentage of success.

Analysis: Costs are awarded as indemnity and not as punishment or bonus. Court-fees are payable only by one party and are strictly governed by the prescribed table of fees. In a partly successful appeal, taxing court-fees on the amount actually allowed preserves the practical working of the slab system and avoids treating partial success as if the appellant had originally claimed only the lesser amount, which would distort the indemnity principle.

Conclusion: Court-fees are to be taxed according to the slab system on the claim actually allowed in the appeal.

Issue (ii): Whether advocate's fees are to be taxed on the amount of claim actually allowed or disallowed, or on the whole claim in appeal and thereafter apportioned according to success.

Analysis: Advocate's fees are ordinarily incurred by both sides, and the proper measure of indemnity is achieved by first taxing fees on the entire claim in appeal and then apportioning the taxed amount between the parties according to their respective success. This provides a fairer reflection of the expenditure incurred in prosecuting and defending the appeal, even though fees are also assessed on a slab basis.

Conclusion: Advocate's fees, whether single or double, are to be taxed on the entire claim in appeal and then apportioned between the parties according to the percentage of success in the appeal.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered by affirming the established practice for court-fees and by adopting a uniform method for taxing advocate's fees on the whole appellate claim before apportionment between the parties.

Ratio Decidendi: In taxing proportionate costs on appeal, court-fees are assessed on the claim actually allowed, while advocate's fees are assessed on the entire claim and then apportioned according to success, because costs operate as indemnity and the two items differ in nature and incidence.

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