Lawyers in the State are up in arms against a set of proposals to reduce their fee for money suits.
Money suits are lawsuits filed in civil courts for the recovery of money as a legal remedy. It includes the money to be collected from a defaulter and damages or compensation claimed. The most commonly filed money suits include the ones related to cheques and promissory notes, recovery of bank loans, collection of rent arrears and those filed for the return of advance amount paid for the purchase of property. The government has proposed to reduce the fee by amending the Civil Rules of Practice, Kerala.
The proposal, which was originally mooted by the Registrar General of the Kerala High Court, seeks to reduce the fee for money suits of value ranging between ₹50,000 and ₹5 lakh to 3% from the existing 5% of the amount awarded or decreed by a court. For suits of value ranging between ₹5 lakh and ₹5 crore, the fee has been proposed to be slashed to 1% from the existing 3%. The fee for lawyers appearing in Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals shall also be calculated on the basis of the proposed amendment, it said.
