The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary to remain present in the court if the recommendations made by the rationalisation committee to bring down the court fees uniformly between 2 and 3 per cent are not notified by December 22.
A committee headed by former judge of the High Court Justice K. Sampath (who passed away on Wednesday) was constituted by the High Court on December 8, 2015 to suggest rationalisation of the court fee structure.
Noting that the existing court fee at 7.5 per cent of the value of the subject matter made a litigant spend more than 30 per cent of the value of the property, it recommended bringing down the fee for civil suits.
On the fee payable on writ petitions, it sought an increase from the existing Rs.200 to Rs.1,000.
It also recommended an increase in the fee for criminal complaints under Sec.138 (cheque bounce cases) of the Negotiable Instruments Act to 5 per cent subject to a maximum of Rs.10,000 taking into consideration the time consumed by these complaints.
The report said, “The decrease in the rate of court fee is expected to be offset by increase in the fixed court fees payable for writ petitions, writ appeals, or original side appeals, civil miscellaneous appeals, and civil revision petitions.”
As the State government failed to give a time limit within which the recommendations could be implemented, the Bench directed that Apoorva Verma, Secretary, State Home Department, be present before the court if the recommendations are not notified by December 22.
