Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly on Monday referred a proposed amendment concerning the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959, to the Subject Committee, focusing on additional court fees gathered from matters resolved out of court. The legislative adjustment aims to establish that such extra court fees will remain non-refundable.
Presenting the amendment before the House, V D Satheesan explained that the initiative stems from practical obstacles involved in reclaiming money after it has already been allocated for alternate purposes. The matter concerns extra court fees deposited by litigants during dispute resolutions conducted pursuant to Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
According to the explanation provided, 70 percent of the funds gathered for the Legal Aid Fund were channeled into the Advocates Welfare Fund, while 30 percent went to the Advocates Clerks Welfare Fund. After deducting 10 percent from each fund to support basic litigant amenities, the remaining capital was deposited into the respective funds. Because these resources have already been disbursed across various initiatives, reversing the transactions and issuing refunds to litigants presented substantial practical barriers.
Satheesan noted that the High Court had instructed an amendment to Section 76 of the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act to ensure that additional fees collected in these scenarios cannot be refunded under any condition. The proposed legislation introduces a new Section 76A explicitly stating that additional fees from out-of-court settlements are non-refundable. Nonetheless, the measure protects instances where courts previously ordered refunds before the provision's enactment, alongside matters settled out of court where formal judgments remain unpronounced.
Following the presentation, Satheesan asked for the amendment to undergo thorough evaluation by the Subject Committee. Despite initial objections raised by Left Democratic Front legislators regarding specific provisions, those objections were not pressed, allowing Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan to formally refer the matter to the committee for further review.