Rs 30 Too Steep? Homemaker's Appeal Rejected Over Unpaid Court Fee

The Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed a homemaker's appeal against the Railway
Claims Tribunal's 2010 judgment as an “indigent person”, citing the low court fees of Rs 30
for the memorandum of appeal.

According to Justice Vivek Jain's single-judge bench, the appellant-applicant has not proven
her incapacity to pay even the court fees of Rs 30, which are required under the High Court
Rules and Court Fees Act.

The court fees that must be paid on the memorandum of appeal are merely Rs. 30,
according to the office report. The single judge bench commented, " According to the
averments of the application under Order 44 Rule 1 CPC, there is no averment that the
applicant is not in a position even to pay Court fees of Rs. 30/-."

In 2012, the appellant-woman filed an appeal against the Railway Claims Tribunal's decision
to deny her claims. A previous bench of Justice Alok Aradhe, consisting of one judge, had
allowed the delay in 2015 and instructed that the matter be listed for admission following
receipt of the records from the Claims Tribunal. Ever since the case has been before the
High Court.

After hearing an application from the appellant requesting permission to litigate the appeal
as an impoverished person without paying court fees, Justice Vivek Jain requested the office
to report on the fees that were due on August 2, 2024.

Her application under Order 44 Rule 1 CPC was denied by the High Court on Tuesday. The
court further explained that, per the applicable regulations, the applicant must pay Rs. 30 in
court fees within 15 days for her appeal to be recorded and considered for admission.

Author: Aarya Kadam
News Writer