GOVERNMENT OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA vs AHLIAN JABAN DARGAI Ss — 2026 PLD 129 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT

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GOVERNMENT OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA VS AHLIAN JABAN DARGAI Ss.3, 8 & Preamble---Civil Courts Ordinance (II of 1962), S.18(1)---Civil Procedure Code (V of 1908), S.6 [as inserted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) Act, 2020]---Pecuniary jurisdiction of Trial Court---Amount or value of the subject matter of the suit for the purpose of jurisdiction (original or appellate), ascertainment of---Valuation clause of the suit given in plaint---Change of valuation during the trial---Trial Court, competency / powers of---Scope---Defendant was aggrieved that suit was initially valued to an amount of over fifty million rupees, but said valuation was altered by the Trial Court upon an application filed by the plaintiff; which judgment was maintained by District Court---Validity---In view of the express command of S.6 of Civil Procedure Code, as inserted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) Act, 2020, it is obvious that if the amount or value of the subject matter of a suit is below rupees fifty million, then the suit is to be filed in the Court of Civil Judge; and if the value of the suit is more than the aforesaid maximum limit, the suit is to be filed before the District Judge---Obviously the amount or value of the subject matter of the suit is not to be ascertained by a litigant through some abstract guess work or so; for valuing a suit for the purpose of court-fee the special law that governs the matter is Court-fees Act, 1870---Likewise, for the purpose of ascertaining the jurisdictional value of the case, it is the Suits Valuation Act, 1887 which provides a complete guide and structure for computation of the amount or value of the subject matter of the suit---Importantly, the Preamble of the Suit Valuation Act, 1887 clearly envisages that the said Act is promulgated "to prescribe the mode of valuing certain suits for the purpose of determining the jurisdiction of Courts with respect thereto"---Thus, it is settled that whenever a litigant or his counsel has to ascertain the amount or value of the subject matter of the suit for the purpose of jurisdiction (original or appellate), he has to do that in accordance with the special law (Suit Valuation Act, 1887); the mechanism which is to be adopted and gone through for this object is detailed in Ss.3 & 8 specifically given the very nature of every suit---As though, undoubtedly, it is for the plaintiff to fix the value of the suit for the purposes of court-fee and jurisdiction in the valuation clause of the plaint, but Trial Court does have the competence to change such valuation and once such a correction is ordered by the court, it is the judicial determination of the value of a suit for the purpose of court-fee and jurisdiction which has the precedence over the valuation made by the plaintiff and it shall be the latter which shall be taken into account for determination of jurisdiction of a court---Applying the same proposition, in the present case, it appears that the suit was initially valued to an amount over fifty million rupees, but that valuation was altered by the Trial Court upon an application filed by the plaintiff---Thus, it was the value of the suit finally determined and altered by the Trial Court which had to determine the amount of court-fee and competence/jurisdiction of the court to try and adjudicate upon the lis---Argument of the petitioner / defendant (Provincial Government) that the initial value of the suit was beyond the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Trial Court and so from day one it was not competent to proceed with the case and to alter the value, was misplaced---In the event when suit is valued at an amount falling beyond or below the pecuniary jurisdiction of Trial Court, it can proceed with the trial; this is so because in both these events the value of the suit given in the plaint is subject to final determination / change and correction to be made by the Trial Court---In case, during the course of evidence or upon its conclusion, court comes to the conclusion that suit is undervalued, it can correct the value and if such value is raised to a limit beyond its jurisdiction the Trial Court can transmit the same to the appropriate court---Likewise, if a suit is valued initially at a higher amount and is found later during trial to be overvalued beyond its jurisdiction, the trial court can still bring valuation to its correct limit after such inquiry as it may deem fit and then proceed with the case accordingly---Therefore, the findings of the court below were in accordance with law and no patent illegality or jurisdictional defect was found in the same---Constitutional petition was dismissed accordingly.

GOVERNMENT OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA vs AHLIAN JABAN DARGAI Ss — 2026 PLD 129 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT

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