Distressed over an unprecedented hike in the court fee, the lawyers’ association in Giridih is now planning to go for a widespread protest from the third – fourth week of August.
“We are really distressed over the unbelievable rise in the court fee. Apart from causing huge trouble to the lawyer fellows, this hike has now turned to be a big hurdle for our clients. The villagers like farmers and other poor sections, especially those coming from the far flung areas are the worst affected. If the state government ignores this issue, the advocate fellows would hit the streets. Besides, we will also go for an extensive protest over the issue”, said Advocate Chunnu Kant, the General Secretary, District Bar Association, Giridih.
"The Jharkhand State Bar Council and Lawyers association from almost all districts have already lodged their protests and have also appealed to the state government to look after the issue. They have also requested to reduce the increased amount as soon as possible. But our requests have been left unheard. Most important point is that we cannot ensure justice to the poor sections this way”, he said, adding that despite repeated protests by the lawyers, the state government has ignored these vital issues.
On July 18, lawyers from across the state had put a black badge on their right shoulder to protest the sudden hike in the court fee. The entire activities were organized under the aegis of the JSBC, Ranchi.
As per the Court Fees (Jharkhand Amendment) Act, 2022, the court fees for different works have increased multiple times. The fee for vakalatnama has been increased from Rs. 5 to Rs. 30. Similarly it has now been increased from Rs 5 to Rs 30 for normal petitions and from Rs. 2 to Rs 20 for procuring certified copies from the court. Similarly, there are over a dozen services where the court fees have grown up to almost 5 to 10 times with respect to the previous fee structures.
Advocate Rajeev Sinha, Manish Mandal, Amit Sinha and Babban Khan are among other advocates who lodged their protests.