The Gujarat High Court has issued a directive asking lawyers and litigants to pay up all outstanding court fees for cases filed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gujarat: The Gujarat High Court has recently issued a circular addressing the issue of outstanding court fees for cases filed during the COVID-19 pandemic period, from March 22, 2020, to January 7, 2022.
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The circular, issued on the orders of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, calls on lawyers and litigants to settle the pending court fees within 30 days. These cases were flagged either for non-payment or insufficient payment of court fees.
The circular further states that if the outstanding court fees are not paid within the 30-day period, the fees will be recovered as arrears of land revenue.
Additionally, the circular requires lawyers and litigants to submit the original documents or certified copies of documents for cases that have been decided, if the same were required to be filed but have not yet been submitted.
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“This is to inform and intimate all relevant learned advocates and litigants that they have 30 days from the date of this circular to pay any outstanding court fees, make certified copies of the documents, or submit the original documents in any matters that have already been decided or disposed of and were filed during the Covid-19 Pandemic period, which runs from 22 March 2020 to 07 January 2022. If the original documents or certified copies of the documents are not filed, the outstanding court fees will be recovered as arrears of land revenue.
The circular emphasizes that if the original documents are not filed within the 30-day period, no certified copies of these documents will be issued.
