HYDERABAD: Feeling the need of plugging loopholes in the Legal Services Authorities Act, a division bench of the Hyderabad High Court has directed the Legal Services Authorities of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states to investigate how ineligible persons are getting the benefits of court fee exemption (legal aid) under the Legal Services Authorities Act.
The bench comprising Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy and Justice M S K Jaiswal was passing this order in a petition filed by Navya Infracon Projects (I) private limited.
The petitioner company submitted that some fishermen did not pay the court fee but their suits have been numbered and proceeded. These fishermen got the exemption to the tune of `18.5 lakh by virtue of the decision of the District Legal Services Authority of Visakhapatnam which granted this exemption.
After hearing the case and perusing the material on record, the bench set aside the impugned decision of the DLSA of Visakhapatnam saying “We have no hesitation to hold that the scrutinising committee of the DLSA of Visakhapatnam has exempted the plaintiffs (fishermen) from paying huge court fee without application of mind and without following the procedure under the Act and the Central and state regulations.”
The bench directed the committee to reassess and re-evaluate the prima facie case and also determine whether the claim of the plaintiffs that they are eligible for exemption based on the income limit under Section 12(h) of the Act is bonafide or not. The bench made it clear that till a decision is taken by the committee, the suit shall not be proceeded with.
While allowing the petition, the bench said that “We would like to place on record certain ground realities. We have come across strong criticism of brazen misuse of benevolent provisions of the Act and the regulations. It has come to our notice that persons with sound financial position have been invoking the provisions of Section 12(h) of the Act and receiving the benefit of payment of huge court fee.”