The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Department circular puts lawyers in trouble

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 03, 2006
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Department circular puts lawyers in trouble

Girish Menon

The circular requires affixing of Legal Benefit Fund seal on court fee stamps. Now the lawyers have to queue up at treasury offices to get the seal affixed on the stamps.

Thiruvananthapuram: A recent circular issued by the Law Department requiring affixing of Legal Benefit Fund seal on different denominations of court fee stamps is creating a lot of hardship to the legal community and the public.

Even though the circular has been issued in order to prevent loss to the Legal Benefit Fund, it has ended up as a nightmare for lawyers who are required to wait in long queues before the principal treasury offices to get the seal affixed on court fee stamps used in Mukhthiarnama, Vakalathnama or in respect of appeals or revision by tribunals and appellate authorities other than civil and criminal courts.

Rule 11 of the Kerala Benefit Fund Rules, 1991, envisages that the court fee levied and collected in respect of appeals or revision by tribunals or appellate authorities other than civil and criminal courts and the 50 per cent of the court fee levied and collected on Mukhthiarnama/ Vakalathnama under Article 16 of Schedule II of the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959, shall be collected by means of court fee stamps over stamped or affixed with the seal with the words "Legal Benefit Fund" in the required number of different denominations of court fee stamps.

The Government had, in 2002, authorised the levy by tribunals and appellate authorities constituted by or under any special or local law other than civil and criminal courts of additional court fee in respect of each appeal or revision at the rate of 0.5 per cent of the amount involved in the dispute in cases where it is capable of valuation and in other cases at the rate of Rs.50 in each such case.

Directive

Pointing out the loss sustained by the Legal Benefit Fund, the Law Department issued strict instructions mandating the affixing of the seal "Kerala Benefit Fund" on court fee stamps affixed on Vakalathnama or Mukhthiarnama. The circular directed appellate authorities and tribunals and all heads of departments not to entertain Vakalathnama submitted before them without sufficient amount of court fee stamps bearing the seal.

They were also directed to ensure that the appeals and revisions are duly valued for the purpose of court fees, besides submitting the necessary statements to the Law Secretary once in three months showing the number of Vakalathnama/ Mukhthiarnama accepted by them and the amount collected towards the Kerala Legal Benefit Fund.

Lawyers' demand

The legal community is not averse to paying amounts to the benefit fund. Their only demand is that stamps with the seal affixed should be made available to authorised vendors. Another way out would be to allow the appropriate authorities to collect the fee directly in cash and credit it to the relevant treasury head of the benefit fund. This, according to legal circles, would help reduce the hardship now being faced by lawyers throughout Kerala.

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