Kerala lawyers boycott courts demanding rollback of hike in court fees

Kerala lawyers strike against court fee hike, claiming it makes access to justice too expensive for the public.

Lawyers across Kerala struck work on Wednesday (April 9, 2025) demanding the reversal of the hiked court fees, which, according to them, has made access to justice prohibitively expensive.

Lawyers, under the aegis of the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA), resorted to a pen-down protest. The lawyers of the Ernakulam District Court kept themselves out of the court on the day and took out a protest march. Senior lawyers, including P. K. Sajeevan, addressed the lawyers.

Later, addressing a press conference, Yeshwant Shenoy, president of the KHCAA, said the government’s decision to steeply hike the fee violated the government’s constitutional responsibility of delivering justice to the people. The fee hike has brought in a huge financial burden on the general public. It would be the general public and not the lawyers that would be burdened by the government decision, as the court fee for the litigations will have to be borne by the people, he said.

The government was “penalising people” who approached courts for the constitutionally guaranteed right of access to justice. The fee hike was introduced without any rationale and not following any rules. Kerala has the highest court fee when compared to other States, he alleged.

Anto Thomas Adipuzha, district president of the association, said the views expressed by the Bar Associations across the State regarding the proposals for revising the court fee were not looked into. The lawyers and the associations were denied copies of the report of the government-appointed commission on the fee hike. The government even sought to submit the report in a sealed cover before the Kerala High Court, which was considering a petition challenging the government decision, he said.

Lawyers questioned the ‘secrecy’ maintained regarding the report, which has far-reaching consequences on the general public. The commoners, who approach the court seeking to restore or establish their rights, would be hurt by the fee hike, they alleged.