Mumbai: The Advocates Association of Bombay high court bench at Aurangabad has filed a writ petition against the decision of the state government to amend the Maharashtra Court Fees (Amendment) Act, 2017 that proposes to increase fixed fees for various court procedures by almost 200-1,200 per cent. The petition has alleged that while administration and litigation expenses incurred by the state had increased nominally, the proposed hike seems to be an attempt at profiteering and put justice out of reach for the poor.
The petition has also pointed out that the court fees in Maharashtra is already higher than other courts. According to the petition filed by senior advocate Satish Talekar on behalf of Anandsingh Bayas, secretary of the association, “Access to justice cannot be a luxury for the rich.”
In light of this averment, the petition has cited judicial pronouncements of the Supreme Court that stresses “on a broad correlation between the quantum of court fee and expenditure incurred on administration of justice,” the amendment does not follow the dictat.
The petition further says that while there has been a nominal increase in the number of cases being filed across courts, the proposed hike in fees is exorbitant and is not proportionate to the expenditure.
The petition further states that though the government of Maharashtra while increasing the fees previously had assured that “no further revision would be made for another 25 years having regard to abnormal enhancement of Court Fees in 2001” it was proposing to increase the fees through the 2017 amendment.
The petition has been allowed for circulation and is expected to come up for hearing soon.
