State to clarify on exemption of court fees for women

March 8: State advocate general Goolam Vahanvati on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court that the state will issue an exhaustive list of cas...

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March 8: State advocate general Goolam Vahanvati on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court that the state will issue an exhaustive list of cases where women will be exempted from paying court fees ensuring that while the genuine litigants are benefitted, the 1994 notification exempting court fees for women in certain cases is not misused.

The submissions were made by Vahanvati before Justice R M Lodha following notices sent to the AG’s office seeking his opinion on a case where a woman who had filed a suit claiming money from a debtor, had sought exemption of court fees.

Vahanvati submitted a short affidavit filed by the state that gave details of the October 1, 1994 notification exempting women from paying court fees in matters of `violence, maintenance, property and divorce’. It was the word `property’ that was apparently being misused and even commercial transactions allegedly conducted by women were being cited as cases liable for exemption.

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“It was never the intention of the state government to have a blanket ban on court fees for all women litigants,” Vahanvati told the court adding that the notification had to be read along with the state policy for women unveiled in 1994. He read the policy and remarked that it was clear that the state wanted to take steps to help the depressed class of women.

Justice Lodha accepted the contention about the policy and remarked that if it were not so, the state need not have issued a notification spelling out the cases and could have done with a one-line notification. He, however, suggested that the state, instead of seeking a judicial interpretation of the notification, can on its own issue a clarification. Which is when Vahanvati submitted the state would do so.

Later talking to `Express Newsline’ Vahanvati added that instead of the court interpreting the notification, the state would now issue a whole list of around 16 to 17 cases where an exemption would be attracted. “The list will contain cases like if a woman is taking a divorce, or is seeking her streedhan, or is fighting for maternal or matrimonial home, or is seeking maintenance for her minor children… court fees will be exempted”, he said.

When pointed out that in the lower courts, like the Family Court, divorce is interpreted very narrowly with the court insisting on fees for related issues like restitution of conjugal rights or separation, Vahanvati said he was open to suggestions of the kind of cases that are to be considered for exemption of fees, within the notification.