Patna HC lawyers on strike, Bihar govt rules out roll back

Patna HC lawyers on strike, Bihar govt rules out roll back Bihar's government has rejected the lawyers' demand for roll back of the court fees even as over 8,000 advocates of Patna High Court launched a three-day strike paralysing the functioning of the court. "We will stick to the decision of raising the court fees in keeping with the recommendations of the Shetty Commission," Bihar Minister for Industry Gautam Singh said replying to a call-attention notice of RJD MLA and senior advocate Shakeel Ahmed Khan in the state assembly. Singh turned down Khan's plea to repeal the Bihar Court Fees Amendment Act, 2007 saying "It will in no way affect the poor as the people belonging to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe with an annual income upto Rs 25,000 are not required to pay the fees." The hike, termed as 'steep' by the lawyers, was necessary in view of the increasing expenditures on judicial administration in the state. The court fees were revised in 1935, 1977 and 1986, he said adding Rs 191 crore was estimated to be spent on the court administration per annum against the annual income of Rs 20 crore through court fees. Opposing the minister's no, RJD MLAs shouted slogans and staged a walk out from the house. Khan had said over 10,000 lawyers were demonstrating outside the state assembly seeking repeal of the 'anti-poor' provisions of the Act. Earlier in the day, Patna High Court lawyers struck work for three days protesting the recent steep hike in court fees barely a month after they abstained from work for two days against the measure.

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