Bar members meet guv, seek rollback of court fee hike

Ranchi: A delegation of the Jharkhand State Bar Council (JSBC) on Monday met governor Ramesh Bais to demand roll back of the Court Fee (Jharkhand Amendment) Bill 2022, which was passed by the state assembly in the recently concluded winter session. It also demanded that the Court fee (Jharkhand Amendment) Act, which was implemented through a notification on February 22, 2022 be withdrawn.
The delegation, led by JSBC chairman Rajendra Krishna, submitted the memorandum stating that the steep hike in court fee would deprive people from getting justice. It said that the maximum court fee has been hiked from Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh.
The delegation said that JSBC had challenged the government’s notification on court fee hike in the high court adding that the writ petition is pending. The government tabled the Court Fee (Jharkhand Amendment) Bill 2022 to amend the schedule I of the earlier order. It said that the changes in the new bill were a mere eye wash as the reductions were minimal.
The delegation said that the decision by the state government has been taken without considering the economic status of common man of Jharkhand. It said a vast majority of people in the state do not have economic resources to avail of justice adding in such circumstances there was no reason to enhance the court fee at all.
Krishna said, “We requested that the government should form a committee comprising legal experts and JSBC members to consider the fee issue. Judiciary is the sovereign function of the state then why charge the fee.”
A member of delegation Sanjay Virdrohi said, “We also pointed out that cases of economically weaker section have declined in the recent past. We requested the governor not to approve the Court Fee (Jharkhand Amendment) Bill 2022 when it comes to him.”
The JSBC also demanded enactment of the Advocates Protection Act and a budgetary provision for welfare of the advocates.
The JSBC delegation is also scheduled to meet chief minister Hemant Soren to convey its views on the court fee hike on Wednesday. The JSBC decision to abstain from court works indefinitely on the issue has been postponed.