India’s House Panel: Companies Must Be Charged More for Court Cases

Posted by Reading Time: < 1 minute

Oct. 28 – India’s parliamentary standing committee on Law and Justice is proposing that the Supreme Court and High Courts charge higher fees for corporations settling disputes while fees those who are poor and illiterate should be levied, reports The Times of India.

In a scenario when the judicial system is clogged by the huge number of cases, preference to corporate cases that too on minimum court fees may amount to taking away the time meant for the common man, the Committee's chairman E M S Natchiappan told The Times India.

"Early hearing and disposals of cases by the courts in corporate cases only delay the cases of ordinary citizens as they take valuable court time within minimum court fees, therefore, there is a strong case for a differential court fee for the corporate sector," said Natchiappan.

The panel said, "The corporate bodies could easily get their disputes resolved through the methods of Arbitration and Conciliation. However, arbitration may involve higher cost. For this reason also the corporate bodies make use of the judicial infrastructure."

However, while recourse to judicial infrastructure cannot be denied there is no harm if higher court fees is levied because the state incurs huge expenses in maintaining the entire judicial infrastructure, the panel added.

The fees charged by the Supreme Court are added to a consolidated fund managed by the state. The fund is then used to provide free legal aid to the destitute and disabled.