Chennai: The Labour Law Practitioners’ Association has demanded the withdrawal of amendment to Tamil Nadu Court fees and Suits Valuation (amendment) Act, by which the court fees for filing writ petitions in the high court has been increased from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000.
The LLPA by its president N.G.R.Prasad passed a resolution and sent a copy of the resolution to the Chief Minister and law minister on Friday.
According to LLPA, it was only five years ago the court fees for filing writ petition was raised from Rs 100 to Rs 200. The present raising of the court fees from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 was not only outrageous attack on access to justice for the working class and weaker sections of society, but also makes mockery of access to justice in the high court. It may be noted that the court fee for filing writ petition in the high courts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala was only Rs 100.
It passes ones comprehension as to why the government should raise the court fee from Rs 200 to Rs 1000 when it was only Rs100 in the neighbouring states. Administration of justice was not for making revenue for the state, but to redress the grievances of the litigant public. “We therefore, call upon the government of Tamil Nadu to immediately revoke the G.O notifying the amendment to raise the court fees and restore the original court fee of Rs 200”, LLPA added.
