http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 1 of 8  

CASE NO.: Appeal (civil)  2122 of 1999

PETITIONER: State of Himachal Pradesh & Ors.

RESPONDENT: M/s. Shivalik Agro Poly Products & Ors

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 14/09/2004

BENCH: CJI., G. P. MATHUR & C. K. THAKKER.

JUDGMENT: J U D G M E N T

G.P. MATHUR, J.  

1.      This appeal, by special leave, has been preferred by the defendants  (State of Himachal Pradesh and three others) against the judgment and  decree dated 10.12.1997 of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh by which  the Second Appeal filed by the appellants was dismissed and the judgment  and decree passed by the District Judge and also Senior Sub-Judge, Solan  decreeing the plaintiff’s suit were affirmed.

2.      M/s. Shivalik Agro Poly Products Ltd. and others filed the  suit  seeking a declaration that the notification dated 14.4.1969 issued by the  State of Himachal Pradesh under section 78 of the Registration Act be  declared  void and ultra vires and for recovery of Rs.27,771/- paid by them  as registration fee for registering the mortgage deed dated 30.10.1978.   The  case of the plaintiffs, in brief, was that they were allotted an industrial plot in  Parwanoo by the Himachal Pradesh Housing Board for establishing an  industrial unit.  They were sanctioned two loans of Rs. 30 lacs and Rs.27.76  lacs by Himachal Pradesh Financial Corporation and Himachal Pradesh  Mineral and Industrial Development Corporation respectively and in order to  secure the loan, they were required to mortgage and hypothecate the fixed  assets  of their leasehold rights in the industrial plot and the machinery  installed therein with the aforesaid Corporations for which a deed of simple  mortgage was required to be executed.  At the time of the execution of the  mortgage deed, the plaintiffs were required to pay stamp duty of Rs.45,804/-  and registration charges amounting to Rs.27,760/- in accordance with the  notification issued under sections  78  and 79 of the Registration Act by the  State of Himachal Pradesh.  The plaintiffs challenged the vires of the  notification fixing the registration fee by filing Civil Writ Petition No. 105  of 1979 which was summarily dismissed by a Division Bench of the High  Court on 22.5.1979 on the ground that the plaintiffs had an equally  efficacious alternative remedy of filing  a civil suit wherein the validity of  the notification could be challenged.  After dismissal of the writ petition, the  suit was instituted claiming the reliefs mentioned above.  The defendant- appellants contested the suit on the grounds, inter alia, that the impugned  notification had been issued by the  State Government in exercise of the  statutory power  conferred by Sections 78 and 79 of the Registration Act  and, therefore, it was a sovereign function of the State for which no suit was  maintainable; that the notification was perfectly legal and valid; that the  registration fee had been charged in accordance with the schedule of fee  fixed by the State Government in the notification for the registration of  documents and that the registration fee charged was perfectly justified.   

3.      The Senior Sub-Judge, Solan, decreed the suit and declared the  notification dated 14.4.1969 issued by the State Government prescribing the

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 2 of 8  

registration fee to be null and void and also passed a decree for refund of Rs.  27,771/- in favour of the plaintiffs, which was affirmed in appeal by the  District Judge and also in Second Appeal by the High Court.   The main  ground on which the plaintiffs’ suit has been decreed is that there is a  distinction between tax and fee.  Fee is levied for certain services given to  individuals and the amount realized has to be earmarked to meet the  expenses incurred in rendering the services and the amount should not go to  the general pool nor should be spent for  any other purposes.  The State had  not led any evidence to show that the amount realized by way of registration  fee is deposited under a separate head and that it is exclusively utilized for  the maintenance of the registration department.  In absence of any evidence,  the conclusion was inevitable that the amount realized was put in the  Consolidated Fund of the State Government and was being utilized by the  government for general purposes.   Placing reliance upon Commissioner  Hindu Religious Endowments Madras vs. Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar  of Sri Shirur Mutt AIR 1954 SC 282, (for short ’Shirur Mutt case’) a  conclusion has been drawn that it is a tax and not a fee and consequently the  impugned notification is ultra vires the Registration Act.

4.      The principal question which requires consideration in the present  appeal is whether the notification issued by the State Government on  14.4.1969 prescribing the registration fee on a graduated form on the basis  of value of subject matter of the instrument is in accordance with the spirit  of section 78 of the Registration Act and is valid in law.

5.      By the very nature of things recognition of rights or title over  immovable property and transactions therein give rise to manifold problems.  Movable property, depending upon its size or dimension, can be kept in  absolute control in possession of its owner and a third party may not be in a  position even to know where the same has been kept.  But this is not so for  an immovable property which lies in the open attached to the earth at a  particular place and the owner may be residing at a far away place.   The  owner may give the property on lease or licence to someone else who may  get physical possession thereof and enjoy the usufruct thereof.  In order to  get over this difficulty, a system of registration of title to immovable  property  has been evolved  which is followed in many countries.  In the  United States the legal position has been  described as under in Vol. 76  Corpus Juris Secundum Page 525:  "Systems looking toward the registration of titles to  land, as distinguished from the practice under recording acts  generally of recording or registering the evidence of such title,  are in effect by virtue of statute in several of the United States,  and the courts are bound by such provisions rather than by any  doctrine of the common law which is in contravention thereof.   These systems are quite generally known as "Torrens  systems" and the statutes providing therefore as "Torrens  acts" from the name of the author of the Australian Act of  1857, the underlying principle of which they follow.  These  systems are limited in their application to titles to land.

The predominant object of such legislation is the  establishment of a method whereby the title to a particular  tract or parcel of real estate will always be ascertainable by  reference to a register of conclusive veracity, maintained by  the designated public official.  In other words, the purpose of  these laws is to simplify the transfer of real estate, and to  render titles thereto safe and indefeasible through the  registration of such titles, the bringing together  in one place  of all of the facts relative to the title to each particular tract  which is registered, and the use of certificates which shall  conclusively show at all times the state of such title and the  person in whom it is vested.  The Torrens system serves a  broader purpose than merely to notify the record owner of  instruments  affecting the title; it is notice to all the world of  the condition of the title.

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 3 of 8  

\005\005\005\005\005\005\005\005\005\005\005\005\005\005."    

      6.      The position in the United Kingdom has been described in Vol.26   Halsbury’s Laws of England  Paras 701 and 705  as under: "701.  Legislation referable to centrally maintained  register. The legislation relating to registration of the title is  directed to the manner in which the law and practice of  conveyancing are to be adapted  to the use of a centrally  maintained register of title to land.  As the use of the register  has been extended, so the successive statutes mark the  historical development of a system of conveyancing,  commonly known as registered conveyancing , which  approached maturity as part of the real property legislation of  1925.

The result of that legislation, as respects registered  land, is to produce on first registration a state insured record  of entitlement to legal estates in land, open to public  inspection, which is to be kept up to date in respect of  subsequent transactions in accordance with the conveyancing  technique for which the legislation provides.

Indirect reference to the earlier legislation is found at  the commencement of the Land Registration Act 1925 in the  provision that requires the Chief Land Registrar to continue to  keep a register of title to freehold and leasehold land.

705. The Land Registry Act 1862. The Land Registry Act  1862 marked the first attempt to introduce registration of title  as distinct from registration of deeds by memorial.   Registration was on a voluntary basis and subject to  conditions, which included conditions (1) that a marketable  title should be shown; (2) that the boundaries of the land  should be officially determined and defined as against  adjoining owners; and (3) that partial interests should be  disclosed and registered.  The Act continues to apply to  estates registered under it as if the Land Registration Act 1925  had not been passed, until such time as those estates are  registered pursuant to the Act of 1925.  The intention that the  registration of such estates is to be transferred to the modern  register is confirmed by power given to the Lord Chancellor to  provide by order that all titles registered under the Land   Registry Act 1862 should be registered under the Land  Registration Act 1925 without cost to the parties interested."

7.      The law relating to transfer of immoveable property in India is  contained in the Transfer of Property Act 1882.  Section 54 of this Act  defines "sale" and it provides that transfer of ownership in the case of  intangible immoveable property of the value of one hundred rupees and  upwards can be made only by a registered instrument.  Section 107 provides  that a lease of immoveable property from year to year, or for any term  exceeding one year or reserving a yearly rent, can be made only by a  registered instrument.  Similarly, section 123 provides that a gift of  immoveable property must be effected by a registered instrument.  Section  17 of the Registration Act gives a long list of instruments for which  registration is compulsory and clause (b) of sub-section (1) provides that  non-testamentary instruments which purport or operate to create, declare,  assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or  interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred rupees  and upwards, to or in immoveable property must be registered.  These  statutory provisions indicate the importance of registration of documents.  In  fact, it will be impossible to have any transaction relating to immoveable  property in any manner like transfer, gift, giving on lease or creating a

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 4 of 8  

mortgage, etc. without a system of registration of documents.  For smooth  functioning  of the system, the Registration Act has cast certain duties and  obligations upon the State Government.  Section 3  enjoins that the State  Government shall appoint an officer to be called the Inspector General of  Registration.  Section 5 enjoins that for the purpose of the Act, the State  Government shall form districts and sub-districts and the districts and sub- districts so formed together with the limits thereof, and also every alternation  of such limits, shall be notified in the Official Gazette. Section 7 enjoins that  the State Government shall establish in every district an office to be styled  the office of the Registrar and in every sub-district an office or offices to be  styled the office of the Sub-Registrar.  Section 6 enjoins the State  Government to appoint Registrars and Sub-Registrars.  Section 16 enjoins  the State Government to provide for every registering officer the books  necessary for the purposes of the Act and further in each district suitable  provision for the safe custody of the records connected with the registration  of documents in such districts.    By amending Act No. 48 of 2001, section  16A (1)  has been inserted in the Act.  This section provides that  notwithstanding anything contained in section 16, the books provided under  sub-section (1) of that section may also be kept in computer floppies or  diskettes or in any other electronic form in the manner and subject to the  safeguards as may be prescribed by the Inspector General with the sanction  of the State Government.  The office of Sub-Registrar has naturally to be  provided with other staff  like clerks and other persons for carrying on  various kinds of works which are associated with the registration of  documents, which involve recording the contents thereof in the register  maintained for the purpose, issuing  certified copies and giving replies to the  search applications.  The State Government has to incur considerable  expenditure in maintaining the offices of Sub-Registrars which are normally   located at the headquarters of a sub-division in a district and in payment of  salaries to the staff functioning therein.  

8.      The District Court and also the High Court have decreed the suit on  the finding that the registration fee charged for registration of the documents  is a tax and not fee and, therefore, it is ultra vires Section 78 of Registration  Act and for holding so reliance has been placed upon the decision of this  Court rendered in Shirur Mutt case (AIR 1954 SC 282).

In the said decision the indicia of fee was explained as under in paras  44 and 45 of the reports :          "A fee is generally defined to be a charge for a special service  rendered to individuals by some governmental agency.  The  amount of fee levied is supposed to be based on the expenses  incurred by the Government in rendering the service, though  in many cases the costs are arbitrarily assessed.  Ordinarily,  the fees are uniform and no account is taken of the varying  abilities of different recipients to pay."                   And the distinction between a tax and fee was stated in the following  manner in para 45 of the reports :         "The distinction between a tax and a fee lies primarily  in the fact that a tax is levied as a part of a common burden,  while a fee is a payment for a special benefit or privilege.   Fees confer a special capacity, although the special advantage,  as for example in the case of registration fees for documents  or marriage licences, is secondary to the primary motive of  regulation in the public interest, vide Findlay Shirras on  ’Science of Public Finance’, Vol I, page 202.  Public interest  seems to be at the basis of all impositions, but in a fee it is  some special benefit which the individual receives. As  Seligman says, it is the special benefit accruing to the  individual which is the reason for payment in the case of fees;  in the case of a tax, the particular advantage  if it exists at all  is an incidental result of State action."  

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 5 of 8  

Later, in paragraphs 46 and 47, it was observed that there is really no  generic difference between the tax and fees and as said by Seligman, the  taxing power of a State may manifest itself in three different forms known  respectively as special assessments, fees and taxes.  Since a fee is regarded  as a sort of return or consideration for services rendered, it is absolutely  necessary that a levy of fee should, on the face of the legislative provision,  be correlated to the expenses incurred by Government in rendering the  services.  If the money thus paid is set apart and appropriated specifically for  the performance of such work and is not merged in the public revenues for  the benefit of the general public, it could be counted as fees and not a tax.  

9.      After independence of the country the Governmental functions  increased manifold and various legislations were enacted and schemes were  introduced for upliftment of the society.  Many measures were introduced  which contained provisions for imposing compensatory and regulatory fees.    It was realized that the indicia of fee indicated in Shirur Mutt case was too  technical and rigid and was not in tune with the requirement of the prevailing  social conditions. The characteristics of tax and fee were then examined in  considerable detail by a three Judge Bench in Sreenivasa General Traders.  vs. State of  Andhra Pradesh  AIR 1983 SC 1246 and in paragraphs 30 and  31 of the judgment, the Court held as under:

"The traditional view that there must be actual quid pro  quo for a fee has undergone a sea of change subsequent to  decision in AIR 1980 SC 1008.  Correlationship between the  levy and the services rendered/expected is one of general  character and not of mathematical exactitude.  All that is  necessary is that  there should be a "reasonable relationship"  between the levy of the fee and the services rendered.   Moreover, there is no generic difference between a tax and a  fee.  Both are compulsory exactions of money by public  authorities. Compulsion lies in the fact that payment is  enforceable by law  against a person in spite of his  unwillingness or want of consent.  A levy in the nature of a  fee does not cease to be of that character merely because there  is an element of compulsion or coerciveness present in it, nor  is it a postulate of a fee that it must have direct relation to the  actual service rendered by the authority to each individual  who obtains the benefit of the service.  It is now increasingly  realized that merely because the collections for the services  rendered or grant of a privilege of licence are taken to the  consolidated fund of the State and not separately appropriated  towards the expenditure for rendering the service is not by  itself decisive.  It is also increasingly realized that the element  of quid pro quo in the strict sense is not a sine quo non for a  fee."       

It is necessary to mention here that the observation made in para 47 of  the judgment in the Shirur Mutt case that "If the money thus paid is set apart  and appropriated specifically for the performance of such work and is not  merged in the public revenues for the benefit of the general public, it could  be counted as fee and not a tax" may not be very accurate at least where the  fee is being realized by the Government, Central or State, in view of a  constitutional provision.   Article 266 of the Constitution provides that all  revenues received by Government of India, all loans raised by that  Government by the issue of treasury bills, loans or ways and means advances  and all moneys received by that Government in repayment of loans shall  form one consolidated fund to be entitled "the Consolidated Fund of India",  and all revenues received by the Government of a State, all loans raised by  that Government by the issue of treasury bills, loans or ways and means  advances and all moneys received  by that Government in repayment of  loans shall form one consolidated fund to be entitled  "the Consolidated Fund  of the State".  In view of this specific provision any amount realized by way  of fee by the Central Government or State Government has to be credited to  Consolidated Fund of India or of the concerned State, as the case may be,

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 6 of 8  

and will thus necessarily get merged in the public revenues and cannot be set  apart.

10.     In Sreeniwasa General Traders (supra) the Court took note of the fact  that presumably the attention of the Bench hearing Shirur Mutt case was not  drawn to Article 266 of the Constitution.  It was further observed therein that  the Constitution nowhere contemplates it to be an essential element of fee  that it should be credited to a separate fund and not to a consolidated fund.   

11.     In Municipal Corporation of Delhi and others vs. Mohd. Yasin  AIR  1983 SC 617, it was held that compulsion is not the hallmark of the  distinction between a tax and a fee.  That the money collected does not go  into a separate fund but goes into the consolidated fund does not also  necessarily make a levy a tax.   Though a fee must have relation to the  services rendered, or the advantages conferred, such relation need not be  direct; a mere casual relation may be enough.  It was further held that it is  neither necessary nor expedient to weigh too meticulously the cost of the  services rendered etc., against the amount of fees collected so as to evenly  balance the two.  A broad correlationship is all that is necessary.  Quid pro  quo in the strict sense is not the one and only true index of a fee; nor is it  necessarily absent in a tax.

12.     The same question was again examined in considerable detail in Krishi  Upaj Mandi Samiti and others vs. Orient Paper & Industries Ltd. 1995 (1)  SCC 655.  Here, it was held that it is not always possible to workout in  mathematical precision the amount of fee required for the services to be  rendered each year and to collect just that amount which was sufficient for  meeting the expenditure in that year.   Every correlationship between the  levy and the services rendered is one of general character and not a  mathematical exactitude.  All that is necessary is that there should be a  reasonable relationship between the levy of fee and the services rendered.   There is no postulate of a fee that it must have a direct relation to the actual  services rendered by the authority to each individual to obtain the benefit of  a service.  It was further observed that it is now increasingly realized that  merely because the collections for the services rendered or for grant of a  privilege or licence are taken to the Consolidated Fund of the State and not  separately appropriated towards the expenditure for rendering the service, is  not by itself decisive of the nature of the levy whether it is a fee or a tax.    

13.     Secretary to Government of Madras and another vs. P.R. Sriramulu  and another  1996 (1) SCC 345 is a decision rendered by a Bench of three  learned Judges  and the appeal was directed against the judgment of the High  Court of Madras wherein Schedule (1) to the Tamil Nadu Court Fees and  Suits Valuation Act, 1955 and sub-rule (1) of Rule 1 of Order II of the High  Court Fees Rules, 1956 based on Article (1) of Schedule (1) of Madras Act  No. XIV of 1955 were held to be invalid in so far as they related to the levy  of court fees on ad valorem scale.   The Court observed that the  administration of justice is one of the main functions of the State.  It is also a  fact that the function of the State in the modern time has become too  expensive in encompassing a large area of activity.  The State has not only to  maintain a system of administration of justice, but also the maintenance of  law and order.  It has also to provide a system to enable its citizen to canvass  their rights against the wrong done to them as well as to the State itself.  It is  for these reasons that the State came forward to levy fee by legislative  amendments in order to cover up the expenses towards pay, allowances and  pensions of judicial officers and establishment staff, their residential  accommodations, court buildings, repairs and maintenance as well as other  expenses under various heads mainly engaged and employed for the  administration of justice.  After taking note of the observation in Om Prakash  Agarwal vs. Giri Raj Kishori  1986 (1) SCC 722, that in determining a levy  as fee the true test must be whether its primary and essential purpose is the  rendering of specific services to a specified area or class, it being of no  consequence that the State may ultimately and indirectly be benefited by it, it  was held that if a broad and general correlation between the totality of the fee  on the one hand and the totality of the expenses of the services on the other is

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 7 of 8  

established, the levy will not fail in its essential character of a fee on the  ground alone that the measure of its distribution on the persons or incidence  is disproportionate to the actual services obtainable by them.  The test of the  correlationship is not in the context of the individual contributors, the test is  on the comprehensive level of the value of the totality of the services, set off  against the totality of the receipts.  Accordingly, it was held that the test of  correlation is to be reckoned at the aggregate level and not at the individual  level.  On these principles the appeal was allowed and the judgment of the  High Court was set aside.

14.     In a recent judgment rendered in Bombay Stock Exchange Brokers’  Forum vs. Securities and Exchange Board of India  2001 (3) SCC 482 by a  Bench of three learned Judges, the challenge levelled against the registration  fee levied by the Securities and Exchange Board of India on Stock Brokers  came up for consideration.  The Bench after review of a number of earlier  decisions, including Constitution Bench decision in Shirur Mutt case (supra),  took note of the fact that in determining whether a levy is a fee or not,  emphasis must be on whether its primary and essential purpose is to render  specific services to a specified area or a class and if in that process it is found  that the State ultimately stood to benefit indirectly from such levy, the same  is of no consequence.   After examination of the relevant Act and the  Regulations, the Court held that since the amount collected under the levy  account in the said case was being spent by the Board on various activities of  the Stock and Securities market with which the petitioners are directly  connected, the fact that the entire benefit of the levy does not accrue to the  contributors i.e. the petitioners, would not make the levy invalid.  

15.     It will be thus seen that the statement of law made in Shirur Mutt case   (supra) regarding the attributes of fee has undergone a sea change.  The  consistent view now is that there is no generic difference between a tax and a  fee which are both compulsory exaction of money by public authorities. The  correlationship between the levy and the services rendered should be one of  general character and not of mathematical exactitude.  Further, the broad and  general correlationship between the totality of the fee on the one hand and  the totality of the expenses of the services on the other, will be sufficient to  justify the levy.  The levy will not fail only on the ground that the measure of  its distribution on the persons or incidence is disproportionate to the actual  services rendered by them.  The true test being the comprehensive level of  the value of the totality of the services set off against the totality of the  receipts.  The character of the fee is thus established. The vagaries in its  distribution amongst the class do not detract from the concept of a fee as  such.

16.     The subject matter of challenge in the present case is registration fee  which has been fixed by the State Government in exercise of power  conferred by Section 78 of the Registration Act.   The said provision reads as  under: "78. Fees to be fixed by State Government.  The State  Government  shall prepare a table of fees payable --    

       (a)     for the registration of documents;           (b)   for searching the registers;              (c)     for making or granting copies of reasons, entries  or documents, before, on or after registration;             and of extra or additional fees payable --  (d)     for every registration under section 30;                 (e)     for the issue of commissions;                 (f)     for filing translations;                                         (g)     for attending at private residences; (h)     for the safe custody and return of documents; and  (i)             for such other matters as appear to the State  Government necessary to effect the purposes of  this Act".      

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 8 of 8  

17.     The fixation of registration fee under Sub-section (a) on a graduated  scale depending upon the value or consideration for which the instrument  has been executed may be on the higher side.  However, the fee for various  other items enumerated  in sub-sections (b) to (i) is very small, though the  State has to incur a considerable amount of expenditure for the same.     The  high value transactions are generally in big cities where the value of the  property is high and not in small towns or in rural areas.   Nevertheless, the  State Governments have to maintain offices of Sub-Registrars in small sub- divisional towns and post staff which has to be paid salaries. Rules have  been framed by various State Governments which lay down elaborate  procedure for maintenance of Books and Registers wherein copies of  registered documents have to be kept.  This necessarily requires trained  manpower entailing expenditure in payment of their salary.

18.     There is no material on record to show that the overall amount  received by the Government by way of fee from the Registration department  far exceeds the overall expenditure incurred in maintaining the said  department.  The High Court and also the District Court merely took into  consideration the registration fee paid by the plaintiffs and did not at all  examine whether there was any substantial discrepancy between the total  amount of fee realized by the registration department and the total amount of  expenditure incurred by the government in the maintenance and functioning  of the department.  The notification issued by the State Government could  not be struck down merely by taking into consideration the registration fee  paid by the plaintiffs and quantification of the value of services rendered to  them.   

19.     Learned counsel for the respondents has placed reliance upon The  Delhi Cloth and General Mills Co. Ltd. and others vs. the Chief  Commissioner, Delhi and another AIR 1964 Punjab 492,  State of Uttar  Pradesh vs. The District Registrar, Meerut and another AIR 1971 Allahabad  390 and The Chief Commissioner, Delhi and another vs. The Delhi Cloth  and General Mills Co. Ltd. and others AIR 1978 SC 1181 (which is a  decision by a bench of two learned Judges in appeal preferred against the  judgment reported in AIR 1964 Punjab 442)  in support of his contention   that the notification issued by the State Government prescribing the  registration fee in tabulated form is illegal.  It is not necessary to examine  these cases in detail as in all these cases reliance has been placed upon  Shirur Mutt case (supra) for holding that there must be an element of quid  pro quo and that the fee realized must be correlated and must be spent for the  purposes of imposition.  As discussed above, the view taken in Shirur Mutt  case (supra) has undergone a considerable change by subsequent decisions  of this Court.  Moreover, having regard to the express language used in  Article 266 of the Constitution, it is not possible for the State Government to  keep the fee realized in a separate fund other than the Consolidated Fund of  the State.  In view of the subsequent decisions of this Court, the view taken  in the decisions relied upon by learned counsel for the plaintiff-respondents   cannot be considered to be good law and they are hereby overruled.  

20.     For the reasons discussed above, the appeal is allowed with costs.   The judgment and decree passed by the High Court and also by the District  Judge and Senior Sub-Judge, Solan, are set aside and the suit filed by the  plaintiff-respondents is dismissed.