KHCAA and Bar Associations in Kerala will boycott court proceedings on April 9, 2025. The protest targets the massive, controversial court fee hike by the State government.
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Kochi: In response to the recent hike in court fees across Kerala, the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) has announced a state-wide ‘pen down’ protest.
According to a notice dated April 8, 2025, lawyers have been requested to abstain from all court proceedings on April 9, 2025, as a form of protest.
The decision to launch the protest comes following resolutions passed during two important meetings: the KHCAA General Body meeting held on April 4, 2025, and a joint meeting of all Bar Associations in the state held on April 5, 2025.
The notice, signed by KHCAA Secretary Adv. M.R. Nandakumar, urges all association members to stand united and participate in the protest in line with the collective decision of the legal fraternity in Kerala.
The symbolic ‘pen down’ marks the legal community’s firm opposition to the recent court fee hike, which has been widely criticized for being arbitrary, excessive, and unfair to the common man. The move is part of a growing wave of protests by lawyers who argue that the hike threatens access to justice and violates constitutional principles.
This protest aligns with the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) recently filed by KHCAA challenging the steep fee hike, which reportedly ranges from 400% to 9900%, as well as the controversial imposition of ad-valorem court fees without an upper cap.
The legal fraternity is now awaiting the State government’s response in the Kerala High Court, as the Bench has directed it to produce the data and reasoning behind the decision to increase court fees.
HEARING TODAY IN KERALA HC
The Kerala High Court today asked the State government to present all the documents and data it used to decide the recent hike in court fees.
This direction was given by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Nitin M Jamdar and Justice S Manu while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) against the court fee increase.
Even though the KHCAA requested the court to pause the new fee hike (which started on April 1, 2025), the Bench refused to stop it immediately without first listening to what the government and other parties had to say.
But the court did agree with KHCAA President Yeshwant Shenoy, who appeared for the association, that the government must be transparent. It must show the proper data, suggestions, and feedback from all stakeholders that were used to make this important decision.
Because of this, the High Court asked Additional Advocate General (AAG) Ashok M Cherian to make sure that the State government submits a counter affidavit along with all related documents and evidence.
When AAG Cherian suggested submitting the documents in a sealed cover, Shenoy firmly objected and said:
“This is about court fees, what is this secrecy? I don’t understand. Even if you give it to me in sealed cover I will release it to the public.”
At this point, Chief Justice Jamdar also clarified that the court is not ordering any such direction to submit the documents in sealed cover.
Earlier, the State government had created a special five-member committee led by retired Kerala High Court judge Justice VK Mohanan to study and give suggestions for updating the court fee structure.
Following that, the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed the Kerala Finance Bill, 2025 on March 25. This Bill made changes to the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959, and the new rules came into effect from April 1.
The KHCAA, in its PIL, said that the fee hike and the introduction of ad-valorem court fees without any upper limit are completely arbitrary, unreasonable, and too high.
According to KHCAA, the court fee hike ranges between 400% to a massive 9,900%, which will make justice unaffordable for many common people. They said that this kind of change goes against what the Supreme Court has said about the cost of accessing justice.
The association also mentioned that imposing ad-valorem fees — which means fees based on the value of the case — without any maximum limit, even in cases where crime victims are seeking compensation, is extremely unfair.
They argued:
“The barriers imposed for a victim are antithetical to rule of law and infringes upon the Fundamental Rights of the victims. The State cannot arbitrarily and unreasonably profit on the plight of the victims.”
KHCAA also said that the government has ignored the advice of both the Law Commission of India and the Kerala Law Reform Commission while making this fee hike.
Though the Finance Minister has said that inflation, the need for better infrastructure, and increased welfare funds for advocates and clerks are the main reasons for this fee hike, KHCAA pointed out that no actual data or reports have been shared with the public to support these claims.
Because of all these reasons, KHCAA has asked the High Court to cancel the 2025 amendment to the Kerala Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act, 1959, by declaring it unconstitutional.
KHCAA is also challenging the rule of ad-valorem court fees without any upper limit, which they say is not just part of the amendment, but also present in the original Act.
The association also pointed to Section 73-A of the same Act, which allows the State government and its officials to avoid paying court fees altogether. KHCAA said that this rule is wrong and unconstitutional, especially because the State government is the biggest litigant in Kerala.
Therefore, KHCAA wants the High Court to cancel Section 73A as well.
The following lawyers appeared in court on behalf of KHCAA: Advocates Shinto Mathew Abraham, Arun Thomas, Karthika Maria, Veena Raveendran, Anil Sebastian Pulickel, Mathew Nevin Thomas, Kurian Antony Mathew, Leah Rachel Ninan, Karthik Rajagopal, Manasa Benny George, Aparnna S, Adeen Nazar, Arun Joseph Mahew and Noel Ninan.
CASE TITLE:
Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) v. State of Kerala & Ors.
BACKGROUND
The Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) decided to file a writ petition in the Kerala High Court against the recent increase in court fees across the State. This decision was taken in the General Body meeting of the Association held on April 4, where the proposal by Association President Yeshwant Shenoy was agreed upon by everyone present.
The body gave full support to the suggestion and decided to go ahead with the legal challenge.
Along with this, the General Body has also allowed the Association to call a token strike on Wednesday, April 9, if all the Bar Associations in Kerala agree to join.
Last year, the Kerala Government had formed a special committee with five members. The committee was led by retired Kerala High Court Judge Justice VK Mohanan. Its job was to study the old court fee structure and suggest how it should be changed. This was being done so that the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959 could be updated to meet present-day needs.
Later, during the State Budget speech on February 7, Finance Minister KN Balagopal explained why the court fee hike was necessary. He said that the increase is meant to deal with inflation and also improve court infrastructure and welfare benefits for advocates and their clerks.
This is the first time in more than 20 years that the court fee rates have been changed in Kerala. These new rates were officially passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly on March 25 as part of the finance bill. The revised court fees came into effect from April 1.
The increase is very high — in some cases, the court fees have gone up by 500% to even more than 6500%. However, it is important to note that the fees for filing Habeas Corpus petitions and Public Interest Litigations (PILs) in the High Court have not been changed.
Below are the new court fee details announced by the government:
- Rs 1,000 for petitions to take possession of secured assets under SARFAESI Act
- Rs 500 for bail and anticipatory bail applications under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 before High Court
- Rs 200 for bail application before Sessions Court
- Rs 250 for anticipatory bail before Sessions Court (and 50% of this for later petitions)
- Rs 50 per person for bail before other courts, up to Rs 250
- Rs 30 in District/Sub Courts and Rs 20 in other courts for general applications or petitions
- Rs 500 for suits for declaratory decree
- Rs 2,500 for injunction suits
- For trust property cases – 1/5th of market value or minimum Rs 5,000; if not listed, then Rs 1,000
- Possession under Specific Relief Act – 1/3rd of market value or Rs 10,000, whichever is more
- For general immovable property possession – market value or Rs 20,000, whichever is higher
- Easement rights suits – relief amount or Rs 5,000, whichever is more
- Suits for accounts – suit amount or Rs 5,000, whichever is more
- Partition suits: Rs 500 in Munsiff Court; Rs 2,000 in Sub/District Court
- Suits for cancellation of decrees – based on property value
- Survey & Boundaries Act cases – up to Rs 5,000
- Suits for register changes – Rs 75
- Public matter suits: Rs 500 in Munsiff Court; Rs 1,000 in Sub/District Court
- Unlisted suits: Rs 125 in Revenue Court; Rs 250 in Munsiff; Rs 1,000–2,000 in Sub/District Court depending on subject value
- Under Section 74 of the Act, income limit for certain categories is now Rs 3 lakh and claim limit Rs 10 lakh
- Legal Benefit Fund (Section 76): 0.5% of award amount in arbitration; Rs 100 for petitions under SARFAESI and original High Court petitions
- For compensation claims like death due to criminal acts, fees are capped at 1% of total amount
- Arbitration-related applications in High Court: Rs 1,000 and 1% of award under certain rules
- Execution of foreign awards:
- Up to Rs 1 lakh – 1%
- Rs 1–10 lakh – 1% of first Rs 1 lakh, then 0.75%
- Rs 10 lakh–Rs 1 crore – 0.5%
- Above Rs 1 crore – 0.25%, max Rs 50,000
- Additional provisions added for fees on raised award in land acquisition
- No fees for Habeas Corpus and PILs in High Court
- Panchayat election petition fees:
- Rs 250 for member
- Rs 500 for President/Vice-President
- Rs 1,000 for Block Panchayat member
- Rs 2,000 for Block Panchayat President/Vice-President
- Rs 1,500 for District Panchayat member
- Rs 2,500 for District Panchayat President/Vice-President
- Municipal elections:
- Rs 1,500 for Councillor
- Rs 3,000 for Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Chairman or Vice-Chairman
- MLA or MP election petitions – Rs 1,250
- Inquiries or commissions – 5% fee
- 2% fee on additional compensation under Telegraph Act, Electricity Act, and related laws
- Application under Order XXI Rule 58, Rule 97 CPC:
- Rs 500 in Munsiff Court
- Rs 1,000 in Sub/District Court
- Rs 1,000 for appeals or revisions
- All fixed fees under Schedule II (except items 20 and 21) increased five times
In 2024, based on a temporary report from the committee, the government had already raised court fees for family court and cheque bounce cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
These earlier changes are still being challenged in the High Court. Both the Bar Council of Kerala and KHCAA are strongly opposing those hikes as well.
The legal community is now preparing for a serious legal fight to roll back what many see as an unfair and burdensome increase in court fees, especially affecting common people who approach the courts for justice.
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