The Kerala government is proposing to raise court fees after 20 years, State Finance Minister KN Balagopal said on Friday in his budget speech. .Last year, the State government had constituted a five-member Committee headed by retired Kerala High Court judge Justice VK Mohanan to study and suggest proposals for the revision of court fees so that the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959, (the Act) can be amended as needed. "The Committee conducted sittings at various places and obtained views of Advocates, Advocate Clerks, both union level and individual level and all stakeholders and submitted their Final Report before the Government," Balagopal said in his speech today..Balagopal said that the hikes have been proposed taking into consideration inflation burdens, and demands from several quarters to improve judicial infrastructure and enhance benefits provided by the Advocate Welfare Funds and Advocates Clerks Welfare Funds.The government is expecting an additional revenue of ₹150 crores from these changes. .The government now intends to amend the Act based on the recommendations of the committee, to revise court fees in the following manner:.Petitions to take possession of secured assets under the SARFAESI Act - ₹1,000Bail and anticipatory bail applications filed under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 before the High Court - ₹500 Bail application before Sessions Court - ₹200; Anticipatory bail application before Sessions Court - ₹250 (half of fixed court fee for each subsequent petition)Bail applications before other courts - ₹50 per petitioner subject to maximum ₹250Application or petition presented to any Court or Magistrate in his executive capacity and not otherwise provided for in the Act (Schedule II, Article 11(g)) - ₹30 in District Court or Sub Court, ₹20 in other courtsSuits for declaratory decree or order, with or without consequential relief (Secion 25) - ₹500Suits for injunction (Section 27) - ₹2500 Suits relating to trust property - 1/5th of the market value or minimum of ₹ 5,000 and if not otherwise provided for, ₹1,000Suits for possession under the Specific Relief Act, 1877 (Section 29)- 1/3rd market value or ₹10,000, whichever is higher Suits for possession of immovable property not otherwise provided (Section 30) - market value or ₹20,000, whichever is higherSuits relating to easements (Section 31) - amount for which relief is sought or ₹5,000, whichever is higher. Suits for accounts (Section 35) - amount sued or ₹5,000, whichever is higherPartition Suits (Section 37) before Munsiff Court - ₹500; Sub Court or District Court - ₹2,000Suits for cancellation of decrees etc. (Section 40) - based on market value of propertySuits under the Survey and Boundaries Act (Section 45) - max ₹5,000, subject to existing provisionsSuits to alter or cancel entry in a register (Section 46) - ₹75, subject to existing provisionsSuits relating to public matters (Section 47) before Munsiff Court - ₹500; Sub Court or District Court - ₹1000/-Suits not otherwise provided for (Section 50) before Revenue Court - ₹125; Musniff Court - ₹250; Sub Court or District Court - ₹1,000 (if value of subject matter is ₹25K or less) and ₹2,000 (if value of subject matter is more than ₹25K)Income limit of eligible categories under Section 74 (Special provision regarding suits by registered trade union, member of Scheduled Castes. etc) to be raised to ₹3 lakh and the limit of claim amount to a maximum ₹10 lakhsLegal Benefit Fund (Section 76) leviable on petitions filed under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act - 0.5 % of the award amount; on original petition filed before Kerala High Court and petitions filed under SARFAESI Act- ₹100 per petition.Ad valorem fees in Schedule I - Court fees limited to 1% of the total claim amount in case of claiming compensation of death caused by any criminal act, grievous hurt, defamation, malicious prosecution.In Schedule II, fees for arbitration request/application before Kerala High Court to be ₹1000/; under Article 11(m)) - 1% of the amount of the award; and under Article 4(2) as ₹500, ₹2,000 and ₹5,000 respectively. Application for execution of foreign awards: for award amount upto ₹1 lakh - 1% of the claim; award amount between ₹1 lakh - ₹10 lakhs - 1% of the first ₹1 lakh and 0.75% of the remaining amount. In the same manner , mount upto ₹1crore - 0.50% and exceeding ₹1 crore - 0.25% subject to maximum of ₹50,000. (Appropriate provisions to be made)Fees on enhanced award amount in land acquisition references raised (appropriate provisions to be made)Court fees for Habeas Corpus and Public Interest Litigations filing before Kerala High Court to be exemptedElection petitions challenging the election of member of village panchayath fees- ₹250; President or Vice President of Village Panchayath - ₹500; member of Block Panchayath - ₹1000; President or Vice President of Block Panchayath - ₹2,000; member of District Panchayath- ₹1,500; President or Vice President of District Panchayath ₹2500.In the case of member of Municipal Council / Municipal Corporation- ₹1,500; Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Chairman, or Vice-Chairman of Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation- ₹3,000.Election petition in respect of Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) or Member of Parliament(MP) - ₹1,250. Inquiry or commission (Article 19)- 5%Fees under the Telegraph Act 1885, Electricity Act of 2003, Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962 - 2% on additional compensation amount orderedApplication under Order XXI Rule 58, Rule 97 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 before Munsiff Court - ₹500; before Sub Court or District Court - ₹1,000; Appeal or Revision- ₹1,000Fixed court fees in Schedule II except items 20 and 21 of the Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act to increase five fold..Based on the interim report of the Committee , the government had, in 2024, revised court fees for family court cases and cases that fall under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Petitions challenging the same are pending before the High Court. Both the Bar Council of Kerala and the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association have also expressed their strong opposition to the same.The Committee subsequently conducted public hearings and sought inputs from all stakeholders. It submitted its final report last month..In his budget address, the finance minister said that in addition to the changes mentioned above, the Committee recommended revising fees for cases under the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 1969, Kerala Building (Lease and Rent Control) Rules, the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the Kerala Local Self Government Institutions Rules, 1999. The Committee also suggested some relaxations in court fees for women and transgender persons.The Government may consider those recommendations and take necessary steps accordingly..Justice VK Mohanan Committee to hold public hearings in Kerala to consider revision of court fees
