Falling rupee, inflation: State defends court fee hike before Kerala High Court

The Kerala government has defended its decision to hike court fees, telling the Kerala High Court that the move was necessary in the face of inflation and the falling value of rupee [Kerala High Court Advocates' Association (KHCAA) v. State of Kerala & Ors.]..The State submitted that the revision of fixed court fees was done after considering multiple economic indicators to assess the real value of money over the last two decades.These included the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for industrial workers, the exchange rate of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar, average wages in Kerala and gold prices.Referring to the report on Revision of Court Fees and Suit Valuation in Kerala, the State highlighted that the value of the rupee had declined significantly between 2003 and 2023.The report showed that the exchange rate of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar rose from ₹44.94 in 2002 to ₹85.10 by December 2024, showing steady depreciation of the currency..The State government made the submission in its counter affidavit filed in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA) challenging the 2025 amendment to the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act which raised court fees in the State. According to the affidavit, the amendments were enacted by a duly competent legislature based on the recommendations of an expert committee appointed by the government and after extensive research."Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act of 1959 has been amended through the Kerala Finance Act, 2025 by the duly competent State legislature, based on a study conducted by an expert committee comprising a retired High Court Judge, Government Secretaries, and a member of the legal fraternity, appointed by the State of Kerala," the affidavit stated..Kerala High Court Advocates' Association files PIL against hike in court fees.The State further clarified that the fixed fee structure had not been revised since 2003, despite rising inflation and a more than sevenfold increase in Kerala's per capita income.The affidavit stated that while the cost of judicial administration had significantly risen, fixed fees were revised only five times in two decades, and the present hike was both reasonable and necessary."The Committee has found, on a comparison of the receipts from the judiciary and the expenses incurred towards the administration of justice, that the state had to divert its revenue from other sources to meet the expenses towards the administration of justice", the affidavit reads..The KHCAA filed the PIL, claiming that the hikes were unconstitutional and amounted to a denial of access to justice.However, the State in its affidavit has maintained that KHCAA has misrepresented the nature of the fee hike. The State clarified that the amendment revised only fixed fees under Schedule II of the Court Fees Act, and not the ad valorem (value-based) fees.It described the allegation in relation to the ad valorem fee being increased as 'erroneous and misleading'.As per the affidavit, "the state has every right to adopt specific rates of fees in connection with any proceedings in any court except the Supreme Court by virtue of Entry 3 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. Therefore, the allegation of the petitioner that the State cannot charge or impose fees in the field of administration of Criminal Justice is not correct."