Kerala bar council to hold protest against hike in court fees

Kochi: The Bar Council of Kerala on Thursday announced it will hold a protest on July 11 against the Kerala government's decision to hike the court fees payable in cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act and in the family courts.

This protest has been called even as the government has set up a committee to conduct a public hearing on the issue and it will begin its work from July 19.

The decision to hike these fees was taken by the Pinarayi Vijayan government and the BCK in a circular has asked practising advocates to protest the decision by wearing black badges during court hours on July 11.

"The concerns expressed by the office bearers of the Advocate Associations were collated and presented before the Justice Mohanan Commission by the Bar Council of Kerala. The demand of the Bar Council and all the Bar Associations in the State of Kerala is to roll back the decision to enhance court fees for cases filed before Family Courts and under the Negotiable Instruments Act and to restore the earlier position," a BCK circular read.

The Kerala government has not hiked the fees in this sector for the past two decades and the new fees for filing cases with regards to the property in family cases have been hiked from Rs 50 to Rs 2 lakh and likewise for cases under the NI Act, it has gone up from Rs 10 to Rs 3 lakh.