Section B Reception of plaints and applications

1.  Time and hour of presentation. Plaints and petitions should be received on every day, which is not an authorized holiday, during office hours.

2.  How filed. Plaints and petitions must be filed, except, when otherwise specially provided by any law for the time being in force, by the party in person or by his recognized agent, or by a duly authorized and qualified legal practitioner. Recognized agents are defined in Order III, Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. As to appointment of a pleader, the provisions of Rule 4, ibid (C.P.C) should be carefully studied.

3.  Preliminary examination. Every plaint or petition should, if possible, specify the provision of law under which it is presented. The Presiding Officer of the Court should note, or cause to the noted, on the back of the plaint, the date of presentation, and whether it has been presented by the plaintiff in person, or by his duly authorized agent or pleader. The court fees should be forthwith examined and cancelled in the manner prescribed in this behalf.

4.  Responsibility regarding court-fees, stamps. The instructions contained in the High Court Rules and Orders, Volume IV, Chapters 4 and 5 should be observed mutatis mutandis by all revenue courts.

The Punjab Government have laid it down that the ministerial officials of the court concerned. i.e., the Superintendent Grade III in the case of Commissioner and the Reader in the case of Deputy Commissioner and other courts, shall be personally responsible for seeing that plaints and petitions are properly stamped in all simple and undisputed cases. In cases of doubt regarding the correctness of the court- fee due, he should take the orders of the Presiding Officer. Personal responsibility shall be enforced against the ministerial officer in all cases that he failed to refer to the Presiding Officer for orders, and against the Presiding Officer in other cases. This shall, however, be subject to the proviso that personal responsibility should only be enforced against the Presiding or Ministerial Officer, as may be, where obvious mistakes were made and not in cases in which a genuine doubt was possible regarding the correctness of the court- fee due.

The Deputy Commissioner should impress upon the Presiding Officer of Subordinate Revenue Courts and their Readers, etc., their personal responsibility in this matter and make them understand that as a consequence of this responsibility all Government losses in Stamp Revenue will be dealt with in accordance with the F.D. Memo No. 30161-F, dated 30th September, 1929, and the provisions contained in the Punjab Stamp Losses and Defalcation Rules, 1935.

Serious notice should be taken of failure to cancel stamps by punching. Entries should be made in character rolls of officials who are negligent in this respect.

5.  Disposal of unstamped petitions to the Financial Commissioners. When an unstamped petition is presented to the Financial Commissioner which is to be transferred to a sub-ordinate officer, a slip will be attached to the effect that no action should be taken on the petition until it is stamped with the prescribed Courts fees stamp under Schedule II (i) (c) of the Court-Fees Act. VII of 1870.