NEW DELHI: The Delhi Assembly on Tuesday passed an amendment to the Court Fees Act, 1870, providing relief to scores eligible litigants who will now be able to get a full refund of court fees in out-of-court settlements.
Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, who tabled the proposal, said that under the Court Fees Act, 1870, and Section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), whenever a person approaches a court, they are required to deposit court fees.
“Earlier, if a settlement was reached through the court, the court fees were refunded. However, if both parties settled the matter mutually, only 50 per cent of the court fees was refunded,” Singh said.
Now, people of Delhi will get relief as it has been decided that whether the settlement takes place through the court or mutually between the parties, 100 per cent of the court fees will be refunded, he added.
Earlier in 2022, a Public Interest Litigation titled Praveen Kumar Aggarwal versus Government of NCT of Delhi was filed in the Delhi High Court.
“The petitioner challenged Section 16A on the ground that it is discriminatory, as it creates an unreasonable distinction between litigants who settle disputes through court-referred mechanisms and those who settle disputes amicably through other lawful means,” the proposal moved in the Assembly stated.
Later, the law department examined the matter and ‘was of the prima facie view that the existing provision requires amendment in order to remove discrimination and to ensure equal treatment to all litigants who resolve their disputes by settlement after reference by the court,’ it added.