Kerala High Court rejects plea challenging hike in court fees

The Kerala High Court on Friday rejected the petition filed by Kerala High Court Advocates' Association challenging the State's decision to hike court fees [Kerala High Court Advocates' Association (KHCAA) v. State of Kerala & Ors.]..A Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji upheld the State’s power to revise court fees and observed that revision was justified considering inflation, devaluation of rupee and increased cost of justice administration."Revision of court fees has not taken place in the state of Kerala for more than 2 decades. State has placed material on record to demonstrate the devaluation of routine, increase expenditure on the administration of justice. A broad correlation between collection of code fee and expenditure on administration of justice, is all that is necessary, mathematical exactitude is not required," the Court held..The Court clarified that a lawful increase in court fees, justified by economic circumstances, would not automatically violate the right to equality under Article 14 or the right to access to justice under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.It also said that the petition lacked supporting materials or evidence to show that the amendment had resulted in denial of access to justice or had an adverse effect on the litigants. Generalised assumptions are insufficient to declare a legislative amendment arbitrary and unconstitutional, the Bench ruled.Further, it rejected the challenge to Section 73A of the Act, which exempted the government from payment of court fees, observing that this provision had already been upheld by an earlier Division Bench.While concluding the order, the Court added that the State could grant partial or full exemptions for certain groups of people based on their social or financial background, however, it left this decision to the discretion of the government..KHCAA had moved the Court challenging the 2025 amendment to the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act which raised court fees in the State. In its PIL, KHCAA contended that the increase in court fees and imposition of ad valorem fees without any upper limit was arbitrary, unreasonable and exorbitant.According to them, the increase ranged from 400 percent to 9,900 percent and would therefore, result in denial of access to justice for the common man. The same violated the Supreme Court's dictum on the cost of justice.The imposition of ad-valorem fees in the original act and later via the 2025 amendment without any upper limit even in matters relating to compensation for victims of crimes is particularly egregious, it was contended.KHCAA also argued that the State government acted against the recommendations of the Law Commission of India and the Kerala Law Reform Commission.While the Finance Minister cited inflation, infrastructure development and increasing advocate and advocate clerk welfare funds as reasons for the hike, no data or report to support the hikes are publicly available, KHCAA contended.Therefore, the bar body sought orders from the Court to strike down the amendment to Kerala Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act, 1959 by Kerala Finance Act, 2025 as unconstitutional.The petition also assailed the provisions relating to ad-valorem court fees without an upper limit in the Kerala Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act, 1959 and the subsequent amendment made in 2025.KHCAA also highlighted Section 73A of the Kerala Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act which exempts the State government and its functionaries alone from paying court fees.KHCAA, therefore, sought orders striking down Section 73A..Falling rupee, inflation: State defends court fee hike before Kerala High Court.The State submitted that the revision of fixed court fees was done after considering multiple economic indicators to assess the real value of money over the last two decades.These included the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for industrial workers, the exchange rate of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar, average wages in Kerala and gold prices.Referring to the report on Revision of Court Fees and Suit Valuation in Kerala, the State highlighted that the value of the rupee had declined significantly between 2003 and 2023.The report showed that the exchange rate of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar rose from ₹44.94 in 2002 to ₹85.10 by December 2024, showing steady depreciation of the currency..The State further clarified that the fixed fee structure had not been revised since 2003, despite rising inflation and a more than sevenfold increase in Kerala's per capita income..[Read Judgment].[Read Live Coverage].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.