THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
A five-member committee chaired by former Kerala High Court Judge V.K. Mohanan to moot recommendations for revising court fees will conduct hearings across the State to collect opinion from stakeholders and the general public.
The hearings for Kannur (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.) and Kasaragod (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) will be held at the Kannur Government Guest House on June 19 and for Kozhikode and Malappuram (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and Wayanad (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) will be held at the Kozhikode Guest House on June 20.
The hearings for the central region comprising Palakkad, Idukki, Kottayam (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and Ernakulam, Thrissur, and Alappuzha (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) will be held at the Ernakulam Government Guest House on June 21.
The hearings for the southern region comprising Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and Pathanamthitta (3 p.m. to 5 p.m.) will be held at the Thiruvananthapuram Government Guest House on June 22.
Addressing mediapersons here on Saturday, Mr. Mohanan said the committee had written to around 125 stakeholders, including authorities of the Kerala High Court and quasi-judicial bodies, representatives of Bar associations, advocates’ organisations, law reporters, and publishers soliciting their views.
The general public can also present their suggestions at the hearings. They can also submit their recommendations by mailing them to the Convener, Law Secretary, Court Fees Reform Committee, Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram – 695001, or through e-mail (secy.law@kerala.gov.in).
Legal experts N.K. Jayakumar, C.P. Pramod, and secretaries of the Law and Taxes departments are the other committee members. It has been mandated with submitting recommendations to amend the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act.
The panel will study the feasibility of hiking the judicial court fee stamp rates that have remained unchanged for two decades, fixing the court fees at 1% of the claim amounts in defamation and civil offence cases, and increasing the fees in other court litigations by 1%.
In the State Budget for the 2024-25 fiscal, the government had announced its intention to amend the law on the basis of the committee’s interim report. Fee hikes were also announced in cases filed under the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881.
