Appeal NO 1317 of 1975
From the Judgment and Order dated 8 10 1974 of the Bombay High Court in Appeal No 73 of 1974 PH Parekh and Miss Maniu Jetley for the Appellant section K Dholakia and RC Bhatia for the respondent
FS Nariman and BR Aggarwal for the intervener
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by CHANDRACHUD J
A question of practical importance concerning the dying profession of Solicitors arises in this appeal by special leave
The question is whether the bill of costs of a Solicitor or an Attorney who has rendered profes sional services to his client in the City Civil Court can be taxed by the Taxing Master Original Side Bombay High Court and if so whether it can be taxed on the Original Side scale
The dual system which was prestigiously in vogue in Bombay since the inception of the Bombay High Court has been abolished with effect from January 1 1977 and there fore the question is not of growing importance
All the same though the question will by and by cease to have the importance which it has to day we are informed at the bar that quite a few cases are kept pending in Bombay to await the decision of this appeal
Certain properties belonging to appellants were attached by the City Civil Court Bombay in execution of a decree passed by a Court in Bellary
The appellants appeared in the execution proceedings through a firm of Solicitors Ms Raghavayya Nagindas  Co respondents herein who by the vakalatnama executed in their favour by the appellants agreed to act appear and plead for them in the City Civil Court
The respondents took out three Chamber Summonses on behalf of the appellants for raising the attachment which was eventually raised in about 1960
Thereafter they submitted three bills to the appellants for their costs and remuneration
Since the bills remained unpaid the respond ents obtained on February 8 1972 an order from the Prothon otary of the High Court directing the TaXing Master to tax the bills 354 The appellants appealed against the order of the Prothono tary by way of Chamber Summons which was dismissed by the Chamber Judge on October 26 1972 with liberty to the Taxing Master to decide whether respondents were entitled to be remunerated on the Original Side scale of fees as between an Attorney and
client
The Taxing Master rejected the appellants  contention taxed the respondent bills according to the scale of fees applicable on the Original Side of the High Court and directed the issuance of an allocatur
Before the respondents could obtain a payment order on the basis of the allocatur the appellants took out a Cham ber Summonson May 7 1973 challenging the order of the Taxing Master
That Chamber Summons was dismissed by the Chamber Judge whose decision has been confirmed in appeal by a Division Bench
Three contentions were raised by the appellants in the High Court 1 A Solicitor s bill for costs and remunera tion in respect of the work done by him in the City Civil Court cannot be taxed by the
Taxing Master Original Side High Court 2 The bill in any event cannot be taxed according to the scale of fees applicable on the Original Side as between an Attorney and client and 3 The recovery of the amount taxed by the Taxing Master is barred by limi tation under article 113 of the 
The High Court rejected all these contentions by its judgment dated October 8 1974
Mr Parekh appearing for the appellants before us did not press the third point regarding limitation and rightly so
Article 113 of the  though residuary applies to suits and cannot govern the special form of remedy available to the Attorneys for recovering their fees
Proceedings in pursuance of that remedy are governed by rule 573iia of the Original Side RUles and the proviso there to
The proceedings for recovery of fees under those provi sions are not barred by time
Counsel has however pressed the first two contentions with some zeal
We will first take up for consideration the primary question whether the Taxing Master has jurisdiction at all to tax an Attorney s bill of costs for professional services rendered by him to his client in connection with a litigation in a court other than the Bombay High Court in this case the City Civil Court
Rule 569 of The Rules of the High Court of Bombay Original Side 1957 affords in our opinion a complete answer to the appellants  conten tion that the Taxing Master who is an officer of the Origi nal Side of the High Court has no jurisdiction tot tax the Attorneys  bills in regard to work done by them in matters other than those on the Original Side
Rule 539 occurs in Chapter XXIX of the Original Side Rules under the rubric The Taxing Office
The rule reads thus 569
The Taxing Master shall tax the bills of costs on every side of the Court except the Appellate Side and in the Insolvency Court
All other bills of costs of Attorneys shall also be taxed by him when he is directed to do  so by a Judge s order
 355 The rule consists of two parts of which the first part confers jurisdiction on the Taxing Master to tax the bills of costs on every side of the High Court including bills relating to matters in the Insolvency Court but excluding those on the Appellate Side of the High Court
If the rule were to stop with the first part it would have been possi ble to say that the Taxing Master has no Jurisdiction to tax the bills in regard to matters outside the High Court
But the second parts of the rule puts the matter beyond doubt by providing that all other bills of costs of Attorneys shall also be taxed by the Taxing Master it is argued on behalf of the appellants that other bills of costs  must be construed to mean other bills of costs relating to matters on the Original Side of the High Court and bills relating to non contentious matters
We see no jurisdiction for cutting down the scope of the second part of the rule by putting a limited meaning on words of width used therein
All other bills of costs of Attorneys to which the second part Of the rule refers must mean all bills of costs of Attorneys other than those which are referred to in the first part of the rule
That we conceive to be the plain meaning of the particular provision
Rule 573 which was amended by Slip No 190 also shows that the Taxing Master has jurisdiction to tax the bills of Attorneys in regard to professional services rendered by them in matters outside the High Court
Amended rule 573ia provides that subject to the proviso and subject to the discretion of the Chamber Judge to enlarge the time in every suit or proceeding in the High Court an Attorney shall lodge his bill of costs for taxation within five years after the disposal of the suit or the proceeding and if an appeal is filed in the 
High Court wthin five years from the disposal of the appeal
Amended rule 573iia pro vides that subject to the proviso and to the Chamber Judge s discretion In the case of matters which are not the sub ject of any proceedings in the High Court an attorney shall lodge his bill of cost s for taxation within five years from the completion of the matter
 This latter rule prescribes the time within which an Attorney must lodge his bill of costs in regard to matters which are not the subject of any proceedings in the High Court
The necessity for making this provision arose evidently because rule 569 empowers the Taxing Master to tax the Attorneys  bills of costs in all matters except those on the Appellate Side of the High Court
The appellants  contention if accepted will render rule 573iia otiose because according to that contention no matter which is not the subject of any proceeding on the Original Side of the High Court or in the Insolvency Court could be taken before the Taxing Master for taxation of the Attorney s bills
It was then useless
to provide that bills in regard to matters which are not the subject of any proceeding in the High Court must be filed within a particu lar period
Apart from what appears to us to be the only reasonable construction of rule 569 the Bombay High Court over a long course of years has consistently taken the view that the Taxing Master has jurisdiction to tax Attorneys  bills of costs in relation to professional services rendered by them in all matters contentious or non contentious and whichev er be the Court in relation to which the services 356 are rendered except the Appellate Side of the High Court ill regard to which an exception has been expressly carved out by the rule 
In Nowroji Pudumji Sirdar vs Kange  Savani1 the appellants were represented by the respondent firm of
Solicitors in litigation in the District Court and the Subordinate Courts of Poona
The appellants having declined to pay the respondents  bills on the ground that they were excessive respondents obtained an order from the Prothonotary for having the bills taxed by the Taxing Mas ter
In an appeal from the decision of the Chamber Judge who upheld the Prothonotary s order it was contended by the appellants that the Taxing Master had no jurisdiction to tax the bills of the respondents firstly because the bills pertained to work which was not connected with the Original Side of the High Court and secondly because the services were rendered to the appellants by a partner of the respondent firm in his capacity as a pleader
These conten tions were rejected by a Division Bench consisting of Sir Norman Macleod CJ and HC Coyajee 1 who could see no reason why a Solicitor practising in Bombay and performing professional Services for a client regarding business in the mofussil should not be entitled to get his bills taxed by the Taxing Master on the Original Side of the High Court
In coming this conclusion the High Court relied on rule 494 of the Original Side Rules 1922 which was identical with rule 569 of the Rules of 1957
The High Court observed in Nowroji s case that it may be that Attorney would fall within the provisions of the Bombay Pleaders Act 17 Of 1920 with regard to any work done in mofussil Courts after the coming into force of that Act but that it was unnecessary to consider that question because the work for which the respondents had lodged their bills was done before that Act had come into force Relying upon this observation it was submitted by Mr Parekh that the decision in Nowroji s case is not good law after the coming into force of the Bombay Pleaders Act
It is not possible to accept this submission because even after that Act came into force the Bombay High Court took the same view as was taken in Nowroji s case and for good reason which we will expiate while dealing with the appellants contention bearing on i the scale of fees according to which the bills can be taxed
The relevant rule couched in identical language age with which the High Court was con cerned from time to time leaves no doubt that the Taxing Master has the jurisdiction to tax all bills of costs of Attorneys except those in regard to the work done by them on the Appellate Side of the High Court
In Chitnis  Kanga vs Wamanrao section Mantri2 the appel lants a firm of Solicitors had obtained from the Prothono tary of the High Court an order under rule 534 of the Rules of 1936 directing the Taxing Master to tax their bill of costs relating to 1 a suit filed on the Original Side of the High Court 2 a petition for probate in the District Court at Satara 3 an appeal in the High Court on its 1 2 48 Born
LR76
357 Appellate Side and 4 certain miscellaneous work done in the mofussil
The respondent to whom the appellants had rendered these professional services contended before the Taxing Master that the order of the Prothonotary was ultra vires insofar as it related to items 2 3 and 4
The Taxing Master rejected that contention whereupon the re spondent took out a Chamber Summons submitting that it was not competent to the Attorneys to take advantage of the procedure that applies to taxation of Solicitors  costs on the Original Side of the High Court in respect of costs incurred in the mofussil and on the Appellate Side of the High Court
The respondent further contended by the Chamber Summons that the matter was governed by the Bombay Pleaders Act 17 of 1920 and therefore the Taxing Master had no jurisdiction to tax the appellants  bill in regard to items 2 3 and 4
The Chamber Judge set aside the ex parte order of the Prothonotary without a speaking order against which the appellants filed an appeal which was heard by Sir John Beaumont CJ and Kama J The Division Bench held that the order of the Prothonotary in regard to item 3 which related to the work done by the appellants on the Appellate Side of the High Court was clearly wrong in view of the provision contained in rule 534 of the Rules of 1936
As regards the remaining three items namely the suit on the Original Side the probate proceedings in the Satara Dis trict Court and the miscellaneous work done in the mofussil the Court following the decision in Nowroji s case held that the appellants were entitled to have their bill taxed in regard to these items by the Taxing Master of the Original Side although it related to work done in the mofussil
Adverting to the observation made in Nowroji s case in regard to the effect of the Bombay Pleaders Act of 1920 the learned Judges held that the provisions of that Act had no effect on the question in issue
The learned Chief Justice referred in his judgment to section 17 of the Act of 1920 which provided that a legal practitioner which expression includ ed an Attorney may enter into a special agreement as to the terms of his remuneration and to section 18 which dealt merely with the amount of pleader s fees which could be recovered against the opposite party
These provisions according to the High Court had nothing to do with the question whether an Attorney s bill of costs in regard to the work done by him in the mofussil could be taxed by the Taxing Master
in Nowroji supra the learned Judge held that by reason of rule 569 age  Refrigeration Limited1 Mody J sitting singly took the same view of the Taxing Master s power to tax the Attorneys  bills
In that case the appellants had rendered professional services to the respondents in respect of a petition for winding up which was filed in the High Court of Rajasthan
Respondents raised the same contenions which are raised by Mr Parekh before us namely that the Prothonotary had no jurisdiction to pass the Order direct ing the Taxing Master to tax the bill and secondly that the bill of costs could not be taxed on the Original Side scale
Relying upon the decision in Nowroji supra the learned Judgeheld that by reason of rule 569 the very rule with which we are concerned in the instant case an 1 358 Attorney of the High Court was entitled to have his bill of costs taxed by the Taxing Master in respect of professional work done by him even in a Court other than the Bombay High Court
The learned Judge also negatived the second conten tion of the respondents before him but we will turn to that part of the judgment later
These decisions of the High Court contain a correct exposition of the relevant rule which was numbered as Rule No 494 in the Rules of 1922 No 534 in the Rules of 1936 and is now Rule No 569 in the Rules of 1957
The Rules of 1909 also contained a similar rule bearing No 491
It is important to mention from the point of view of legislative  history that prior to the framing of the 1909 rules the corresponding rule was Rule 544 of the 1907 Rules which
in material respects was worded differently
It said Rules 544
The Taxing Officer shall tax the bills of costs on every side of the Court Except the Appellate Side and in the Insolvency Court
He shall also tax all such attorney s bills of costs as he may be directed to tax by a Judge s order on consent of the parties or on the application by any party chargeable with the bill
 Under this rule the Taxing Officer could tax the bills referred to in the second part of the rule by consent of parties only of if an application was made for taxation of the bill by a person chargeable with the bill
Further the second part of Rule 544 did not contain the expression All other bills of costs emphasis supplied which is to be found in the corresponding rule since the framing of the 1922 Rules
The significant changes introduced in 1922 are directed at conferring on the Taxing Master the power to tax all bills of Attorneys including those for work done in any other Court save the appellate side of the High Court
It is argued on behalf of the appellants that assuming that the Taxing Master has jurisdiction to tax the bills in regard to the work done by the respondents in the City Civil Court the bills cannot be taxed on the Original Side scale in view of the provisions contained  in the Legal Practi tioners Fees Act 21 of 1926
We see no substance in this submission
The statement of Objects and Reasons of the 1926 Act shows that the Act was passed in order to give effect to the recommendation of the Indian Bar Committee that in any case in which a legal practitioner has acted or agreed to act he should be liable to be sued for negligence and be entitled to sue for his fees Prior to the Passing of the Act of 1926 various High Courts in India had held almost consistently that Vakils could be
sued for negli gence in the discharge of their professional duties and were entitled to sue for their fees but Barristers could neither be sued for negligence nor could they sue for their fees
The Indian Bar Committee recommended by paragraph 42 of its report that in practice the distinction relating to suing for negligence and being sued 359 for fees was not of great importance since suits by or against legal practitioners in respect of fees and the conduct of cases were extremely rare but it was necessary to provide that in any case in which a legal practitioner had acted  or agreed to act  he should be liable to be sued for negligence and be entitled to sue for his fees
The long title of the Act of 1926 describes it as an Act to define in certain cases the rights of legal practitioners to sue for their fees and their liabilities to be sued in respect of negligence in the discharge of their professional duties
 The preamble of the Act is in the same terms
Section 2a of the Act defines a legal practitioner  to mean a legal practitioner as  defined in section 3 of the according to which a legal practi tioner  means an Advocate Vakil or Attorney of any High Court a Pleader Mukhtar or Revenue Agent
Section 3 of the Act of 1926 provides that any legal practitioner who acts or agrees to act for any person may by private agree ment settle with such person the terms of his engagement and the fee to be paid for his professional services
Section 5 of the Act provides that no legal practitioner who has acted or agreed to act shall by reason only of being a legal practitioner be exempt from liability to be sued in respect of any loss or injury due to any negligence in the conduct of his professional duties
Section 4 of the Act of 1926 which is the sheet anchor of Mr Parekh s argument reads thus 4
Right of legal practitioner to sue for fees
Any such legal practitioner shall be entitled to institute and maintain legal proceedings for the recovery of any fee due to him under the agreement or if no such fee has been settled a fee computed in accordance with the law for the time being in force in regard to the computation of the costs to be awarded to a party in respect of the fee of his legal practitioner  In the first place as explained above the Act of 1926 was passed for an entirely different purpose with which we are not concerned in the present case
Secondly and that is more important section 4 on which the appellants rely deals as shown by its marginal note with a limited ques tion viz the right of a legal practitioner to sue for his fees
It may be that since an Attorney is included within the meaning of the expression legal practitioner  he will be governed by the provisions Contained in section 4 of the Act of 1926 if he brings a suit for the recovery of his fees
But we are not concerned in this case to determine_ the scope and extent of an Attorney s right to sue for his fees
It must further be borne in mind that section 4 which iS in two parts provides in the first place that a legal practitioner shall be entitled  to institute and maintain a legal proceeding for the recovery of any fee due to him under an agreement
This part of the section confers an additional entitlement on legal practitioners and cannot justifiably be construed as detracting from any other right which they may possess in regard to the taxation and re covery of their fees
Section 4 provides by its second part that if there is no agreement between the legal practition er and his client in regard to the fees payable to him he shall be entitled to institute and 360 maintain legal proceedings for the recovery of a fee comput ed in the manner provided therein
This also is in the nature of an entitlement the right recognised thereby being the right to bring a suit to recover the fees in the absence of an agreement
Any legal practitioner who wants to enforce the right which is specially created and con ferred by the Act of 1926 will have to comply with the conditions on which that right is conferred
When a statute creates a special right it can only be enforced in the manner and subject to the conditions prescribed by the statute
Therefore the fees for the recovery of which legal proceedings are brought under section 4 cannot be any
larger than the fees computed in accordance with the law for the time being in force in regard to the  computation of the costs to be awarded to a party in respect of the fee of his legal practitioner
But as we have stated earlier the provisions of the Act of 1926 are entirely beside the point
They have no bearing on the question whether an Attorney can have his bill taxed by the Taxing Master in respect of the work done by him in courts other than the High Court of Bombay and if so on what scale
The Bombay High Court in the judgment under appeal thought that there was an apparent conflict between section 4 of the Act of 1926 and the Original Side Rules relating to the taxation of an Attorney s bill of costs
We would like to make it clear that bearing in mind the true object and purpose for which the Act of 1926 was passed and the drive of section 4 thereof there is no conflict apparent or real between any of the provisions of the Act of 1926 and the rules of taxation contained in the Original Side Rules of 1957
In that view it is unnecessary to resort to the principle of harmonious construction which the High Court alternatively relied upon for holding that the Taxing Master has the jurisdiction to tax the respondents  bill in the instant case and on the Original Side scale
Mr Parekh then relied upon the rules framed by the Bombay High Court under section 2241d of the Government of India ACt 1935 which corresponds roughly to article 2273 of the Constitution and contended that the respondents  bills must be taxed in accordance with those rules and not accord ing to the scale prescribed by the Original Side Rules
This contention too is unacceptable
The rules on which counsel relies were framed by the High Court for fixing and regulating by taxation or otherwise the fees payable as Costs by any party in respect of the fees of his adversary s Attorney appearing acting and pleading upon all proceedings in the Bombay City Civil Court These rules according to their very terms have nothing to do with the taxation of any Attorney s bill of costs as between himself and his own client
The rules govern the fees payable by way of costs by any party in the City Civil Court in respect of the fees of his adversary s Attorney
That is to say if an order of costs is passed in favour of a party to a suit or proceeding in the City Civil Court he is entitled to recov er from his adversary by way of professional charges in curred by him the fees computed in accordance with the rules framed under section 2241d of the Government of India Act and not what he has in fact paid to his 361 Attorney
Rule 9 on which counsel relies particularly makes this position clear by providing 9
Where costs are awarded to a party in any proceeding  the amount of the Attor ney s fee to be taxed in the bill of costs is recoverable by such party if represented by an Attorney from the adversary and shall be computed in accordance with the rules above unless such fee has been settled under the provisions of section 3 of the Legal Practi tioner s Fees Act 1926 for a lesser amount in which case not more than such lesser amount shall be recoverable
 The combined effect of this rule and section 4 of the Legal practitioners Fees Act 1926 is that if an Attorney who has appeared or acted for his client in the City Civil Court sues his client for fees he cannot recover in the suit anything more than is permissible under the rules framed by the High Court under section 2241d of the Government of India Act 1933
Neither those rules nor anything
contained in the Act of 1926 is calculated to affect the Attorney s right to have his bill taxed by the Taxing Master on the Original Side scale for work done by the Attorney in the City Civil Court
The Bombay City Civil Court Act 69 of 1948 provides by section 181 that all suits and proceedings cognizable by the City Civil Court and pending in the High Court in which issues have not been settled or evidence has not been re corded shall be transferred to the City Civil Court
By section 182 costs incurred in the High Court till the date of the transfer of the suit are to be assessed by the City Civil Court in such manner as the State Government may after consultation with the High Court determine by rules
Mr Parekh
drew our attention to rule 8 framed by the Government of Bombay under section 182 but we do not see its relevance on the issue under consideration in the instant case
That rule shows that even as regards the fees of Attorneys the Registrar of the City Civil Court is given the power to tax and allow all such costs and out of pocket expenses as shall have been properly incurred by an Attorney up to the date of the transfer of the suit
The rule further provides that after the date of the transfer such fees shall be taxed and allowed as in the opinion of the Registrar are commensurate with the work done by the Advocate having regard to the scale of fees sanctioned for the Advocate in the City Civil Court by the High Court
Rule 2 being a rule framed under section 182 of the Act of 1948 governs transferred suits only and it expressly authorises the Registrar to tax the Attorney s bill for the work done in such suits both before and after the transfer of the suit from the High Court to the City Civil Court
There is no corresponding rule which can applyto suits and proceedings instituted in the City Civil Court after the Bombay City Civil Court Act 1948 came into force and in the absence of such rule the rules framed under section 182 cannot support the appellants  contention
Mr Parekh also drew our atten tion to the Rules of the Bombay City Civil Court 1948 framed by the Bombay High Court under section 224 of the Govern ment of India Act 1935 but we see nothing 362 in those rules either which can assist his contention re garding the power of the Taxing Master to tax an Attorney s bill as between himself and his client
While we are on this aspect of the matter it would be useful to refer to the Supreme Court Rules 1966 and the Bombay High Court Appellate Side Rules 1960
The Supreme Court  Rules contain elaborate provisions in Order XLI and XLII thereof regarding costs of proceedings and taxation of costs
Rule 13 of Order XLII provides that except as other wise provided in the rules or by any law for the time being in force the fees set out in the Second and Fourth Sched ules to the Rules may be allowed to Advocates and officers of the Court respectively
Rules 23 to 29 of Order XLII deal specifically with Advocate and Client taxation
The Second Schedule contains detailed provisions under which fees are payable to Advocates
for various types of profes sional services rendered by them
Similarly Chapter 14 of the Appellate Side Rules of the Bombay High Court contains various rules for computing the fees which an Advocate is entitled to charge his own client
Similar provision is to be found in England in the Supreme Court Costs Rules 1959 see The Annual Practice 1965 p 1998300
Mr Natman who appears on behalf  of the Incorporated Law Society Bombay drew our attention to rule 29 of the last mentioned rules under which a Solicitor s bill can be taxed as between himself and his client
These provisions are on a par with the rules of taxation of the Original Side of the Bombay High Court
The important point to be noted is that the Rules of the City Civil Court do not except in regard to suits transferred from the High Court contain any provi sion under which an Attorney can have his bill taxed as between himself and his client
Perhaps there is good reason for this because though under section 2241d of the Government of India Act 1935 and article 2273 of the Constitution the High Court has got the power to settle tables of fees to be allowed to Attorneys practising in Subordinate Courts that power has not been exercised by the High Court for the reason probably that the Rules of Taxation on the Original Side of the High Court adequately and effectively take care of that matter
The High Court did exercise its powers under section 2241d in relation to the City Civil Court but did not in the rules framed in the exercise of that power provide for taxation of an Attorney s bill of costs as between him and his client
It is not too much to suppose that the High Court did not want to do once over again what it had elaborately done while framing the rules on the Original Side which were in vogue for a large number of years and were working satisfac torily
Mr Parekh sought to derive some sustenance to his argument from a decision of the Calcutta High Court in Messrs Sander sons  Morgans vs Mohanlal Lalluchand Shah1 but we find that the question which arose for decision therein was entirely different
The appellants therein a firm of Solicitors submitted to the respondents a bill of costs for the work done by them for the respondents on the 1 AIR 363 Original Side of the Calcutta High Court
The respondents challenged the bill by a Chamber Summons which the appel lants resisted on the ground that there was a private agree ment between the parties to pay a particular amount by way of fees and therefore the bill was not liable to be taxed under the Original Side Rules
On a cosideration of the Original Side Rules of the Calcutta High Court Particularly rules 4 and 74 of Chapter 36 the High Court came to the conclusion that the solicitors were bound to have their bills taxed according to the Original Side scale agreement or no agreement
We are concerned in the instant case with a different question under a different set of rules and as pointed out by the High Court the Calcutta Rules are in material respect different from the Bombay Rules
We must interpret the Bombay Rules on their own terms and decisions on other statutes cannot afford material assistance unless of
course  my principle of general application is laid down
We have already mentioned that in Messrs Pereira Fa zalbhoy  Co Mody J held that an Attorney was entitled to have his bill taxed on the Original Side scale even in respect of the work done by him outside the High Court
For the various reasons mentioned above we endorse that view
Before concluding we ought to refer to a rather anxious plea made by Mr Parekh
which involves ethical considera tions
Counsel urged that it is unfair that for small work done in the City Civil Court Solicitors should be permitted to charge high fees prescribed under the Original Side Rules
We find ourselves unable to share this concern
If anything Solicitors are subject to the watchful supervision of the High Court wherever they may render professional services
The object of binding the Attorneys to the scale of fees prescribed in the Original Side Rules is not to confer on them any special benefit which is denied to other legal practitioners
The object on the contrary is to ensure that Attorneys shall always be subject
to the juris diction of the High
Court no matter whether they have acted on the Original Side or in any Court subordinate to the High Court
The only exception is made by rule 569 in regard to the work done on the Appellate Side of the High Court which as indicated earlier prescribes its own scale of fees as between an Advocate and his client
In fact we are unable to see why a power similar to the power of taxation of a bill of costs between an Advocate and his
client which is to be found in the Supreme Court Rules should not be conferred on appropriate officers of Courts subordinate to the High Court
Such a power may enable the Presiding Judges to control the professional ethics of the Advocates appearing before them more effectively than is possible at present
In this very case a bill of Rs 6000 odd lodged by the appellants was reduced on taxation to a sum of about Rs 850 only
If there were no machin ery for taxing the bill the appellants might perhaps have got off with the demand
We would only like to add that before allowing the costs claimed by an Attorney from his client the Taxing Master  must have regard to the fact that the Attorney has appeared in a Subordinate Court and to the scale of fees generally prevalent in that Court
A judi cious exercise of 364 disecretion postulates elimination of unfair play particu larly where one party to a transaction is in a position to dominate the will of the other
The client must receivethe protection of the Court and its officers whenever neces sary
For these reasons we confirm the judgment of the High Court and dismiss the appeal
There will however be no order as to costs


Summary:
Certain properties belonging to the appellants were attached by the City Civil Court in Bombay in execution of a decree
The appellant engaged the respondent firm of Solicitors who by Vakalat executed in their favour by the appellants agreed to act appear and plead for them in the City Civil Court
The respondents took out three Chamber Summonses on behalf of the appellants for raising the at tachment
Thereafter they submitted three bills
Since the bills remained unpaid they obtained an order from the Prothonotary of the High Court directing the TaXing Master to tax the bills
The appellants filed an appeal against the order of the Prothonotary which was dismissed by the Chamber Judge with liberty to the Taxing Master to decide whether the respondents were entitled to be remunerated on the original side scale of fees as between an attorney and client
The Taxing Master rejected the appellants  contention and taxed the respondents  bills according to the scale of fees applicable on the original side by the High Court
A Chamber Summons filed by the appellants before a Single Judge was dismissed
An appeal before the Division Bench by the appellants also failed
In an appeal by Special Leave the appellants contended 1
The Solicitors  bill for cost and remuneration in respect of the work done by them in the City Civil Court cannot be taxed by the Taxing Master of the Original Side High Court
The bill in any event cannot be taxed according to the scale of fees applicable on the original side as between an attorney and client particularly in view of the provisions contained in the Legal Practitioners Fees Act 1926 Bombay City Civil Courts Act 1948 and the Bombay City Civil Court Rules 1948 as well and the rules framed by the Bombay High Court under section 2 24  1  d under the Government of India Act 19 3 5
Dismissing the appeal HELD 1
Rule 569 of the Rules of the High Court of Bombay Original side 1957 authorises the Taxing Master to tax the bills of cost on every side of the High Court except the Appellate side of the High Court and in the Insolvency Court
All other bills of cost of attorneys shall also be taxed by him when he is directed to do so by a judge s order
There is no justification for the appellants  con tention that other bills of cost must be construed to mean other bills of cost relating to matters on the original side of the High Court
Rule 573 as amended prescribed a limitation of 5 years for lodging the bill of cost for taxation after the disposal of the suit or the proceedings in the High Court
In respect of matters which are not the subject of any proceedings in the High Court the attorney has to lodge his bill of cost for taxation within 5 years from the completion of the matter
The necessity for making this provision arose because rule 568 empowers the Taxing Master to tax the attorneys bill of cost in all matters except those on the Appellate side of the High Court
The Bombay High Court over a long Course of years has consist ently taken the view that the Taxing Master has Jurisdiction to tax attorneys bills of cost in relation 8 436SC177 352 to the professional services rendered by them whichever be the court in relation to which the services are rendered except the Appellate side of the High Court in regard to which an exception has been expressly carved out by the rule
354 G H 355 A G Nowroji Fudumli Sirdar vs Kanga  Savani 28 Born
LR 384 Chitnis  Kanga vs Wamanrao section Mantri and Ms Pereta Fazalbhoy  Co vs The Rajputana Cold Stor age  Refrigeration Ltd approved
The preamble and the statement of objects and reasons of the Legal Practitioners Fees Act 1926 shows that the Act was passed in order to give effect to the recommendations of the Indian Bar Committee that in any case in which a Legal Practitioner has acted or agreed to act he should be liable to be sued for negligence and be entitled to sue for his fees
The Indian Bar Committee recommended by para 42 of its report that the distinction relating to suing for negligence and being sued for fees was not of great impor tance since suits by or against Legal Practitioners in re spect of fees and the conduct of cases were extremely rare
But it was necessary to provide that in any case in which a Legal Practitioner had acted or agreed to act he should be liable to be sued for negligence and be entitled to sue for his fees
The definition of Legal Practitioner in the 1926 Act is the same as in the which includes an attorney
Section 3 of the Act of 1926 provides that any Legal Practitioner who acts or agrees to act for any person may by private agreement settle with such person the terms of his engagement and fees to be paid for his professional services
Section 4 of the Act pro vides that any such Legal Practitioner shall be entitled to institute and maintain legal proceedings for the recovery of any fee due to him under the agreement or if no such fee has been settled a fee computed in accordance with the law for the time being in force in regard to the computation of the cost to be awarded to a party in respect of the fee of his Legal Practitioner
It may be that if an attorney institutes a suit he may be governed by section 4 but it really confers an additional right on the Legal Practitioner to institute a suit and cannot be construed as detracting from any other right which he may possess in regard to the taxation and recovery of his fees
358 G H 359 A B F H 3
The High Court was in error in observing that alterna tively there was an apparent conflict between section 4 of the 1926 Act and the original side rules relating to the taxation of an attorney s bills of cost
Bearing in mind the true object and purpose for which the 1926 Act was passed and the drive of section 4 there is no conflict apparent or real between the 1926 Act and the High Court Rules of 1957
360 D E 4
The rules framed by the High Court under section 2241d of the 1935 Act are rules for fixing and regulat ing the fees payable as costs by any  party in respect of the fees of his adversary s attorney
These rules according to their very terms have nothing to do with the taxation of any attorney s bill of cost as between himself and his own client
360 F G 5
The combined effect of section 4 of the 1926 Act and the Rules framed by the High Court under section 2241d is that if an attorney who has appeared or acted for his client in the City Civil Court sues his client for fees he cannot recover in the suit anything more than what is per missible under the Rules framed by the High Court under section 2241d
However that do not affect the right of an attorney to have his bill taxed by the Taxing Master on the original side scale
361 C D 6
Section 182 of the Bombay City Civil Courts Act
1948 provides that in respect of suits transferred from the High Court to the City Civil Court costs incurred in the High Court till the date of the transfer of the suit are to be assessed by the city Civil Court in such manner as the State Government may after consultation with the High Court determine by rules
Rule 2 framed under section82 pro vides that even as regards the fees of attorneys the Regis trar of the City Civil Court is given the Vower to tax and allow all such costs and out of pocket expenses as shall have been properly incurred by an attorney upto the date of transfer of the suit
The rule further provides that after the date 353 of the transfer such fees shall be taxed and allowed as in the opinion of the Registrar are commensurate with the work done by the advocate having regard to the scale of fees sanctioned for the advocates in the City Civil Courts Rules
The said rule applies only to transferred suits
It has no application to the suits and proceedings instituted in the City Civil Court after 148
361 D H Ms Sandersons  Morgans vs Mohanlal Lalluchand Shah AIR distinguished
The Taxing Master however before allowing the cost claimed by the attorney from his client must have regard to the fact that the attorney has appeared in a subordi nate court and to the scale of fees generally prevalent in that Court
363 G H The Court observed that power similar to the power of taxation of a bill costs between the advocate and client which is found in Supreme Court Rules 1966 should be conferred on appropriate officers of the Court subordinate to the High Court
Such a power may enable the presiding Judge to control the professional ethics of the advocates appearing before them more effectively than is possible at present
362 A G