{"id":154560,"date":"2009-04-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-02T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/ambika-rajan-vs-basheera-beevi-on-3-april-2009"},"modified":"2014-04-21T10:23:55","modified_gmt":"2014-04-21T04:53:55","slug":"ambika-rajan-vs-basheera-beevi-on-3-april-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/ambika-rajan-vs-basheera-beevi-on-3-april-2009","title":{"rendered":"Ambika Rajan vs Basheera Beevi on 3 April, 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Kerala High Court<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Ambika Rajan vs Basheera Beevi on 3 April, 2009<\/div>\n<pre>       \n\n  \n\n  \n\n \n \n  IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM\n\nWP(C).No. 8261 of 2009(O)\n\n\n1. AMBIKA RAJAN, W\/O. RAJAN,\n                      ...  Petitioner\n\n                        Vs\n\n\n\n1. BASHEERA BEEVI, W\/O. NAJEEM,\n                       ...       Respondent\n\n2. NAJEEM, S\/O. FAZULUDEEN,\n\n                For Petitioner  :SRI.J.JAYAKUMAR\n\n                For Respondent  : No Appearance\n\nThe Hon'ble MR. Justice K.T.SANKARAN\n\n Dated :03\/04\/2009\n\n O R D E R\n                               K.T.SANKARAN, J.\n                  ------------------------------------------------------\n                      W.P.(C) NO. 8261 OF 2009 O\n                  ------------------------------------------------------\n                     Dated this the 3rd April, 2009\n\n\n                                    JUDGMENT\n<\/pre>\n<p>       The question of law involved in this Writ Petition is whether the<\/p>\n<p>decree holder in a suit for realisation of money is entitled to get refund of<\/p>\n<p>the court fee paid on the plaint, under Section 21 of the Legal Services<\/p>\n<p>Authorities Act, 1987, when the dispute between the parties in the<\/p>\n<p>Execution Petition is settled before the Lok Adalat.<\/p>\n<p>       2.   The petitioner filed the suit against the respondents for<\/p>\n<p>realisation of Rs.1,71,000\/- with interest on Rs.1,50,000\/-. The suit was<\/p>\n<p>decreed on 30.10.2001.           The petitioner filed Execution Petition for<\/p>\n<p>realisation of the decree amount from the respondents by attachment and<\/p>\n<p>sale of their properties and by arrest and detention of the second<\/p>\n<p>judgment debtor in civil prison. The respondents entered appearance in<\/p>\n<p>the Execution Petition and filed objections. The parties submitted before<\/p>\n<p>the executing court that there was a possibility of settlement. Therefore,<\/p>\n<p>the Execution Petition was referred to the Lok Adalat organised by the<\/p>\n<p>Chirayinkeezh Taluk Legal Services Committee constituted under Section<\/p>\n<p>19 of the Legal Services Authorities Act.               Before the Lok Adalat, the<\/p>\n<p>matter was settled between the parties and the respondents agreed to<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                      :: 2 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>pay a sum of Rs.1,25,000\/- to the decree holder in full and final settlement<\/p>\n<p>of the case. A compromise petition was also filed by the parties. The<\/p>\n<p>compromise petition was accepted. Ext.P3 award dated 8.12.2007 was<\/p>\n<p>passed. The operative portion of the award reads as follows:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>              &#8220;Decree holder and Judgment debtor present. Matter<br \/>\n       settled in the Adalat. Compromise petition filed. Refund for<br \/>\n       court fee to the Decree holder as per rules.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>       3. The petitioner\/decree holder filed Execution Application in the<\/p>\n<p>Execution Petition before the executing court for refund of the court fee of<\/p>\n<p>Rs.11,125\/- paid by her as court fee in the suit. The executing court<\/p>\n<p>dismissed that application by the order dated 20.8.2008, which is under<\/p>\n<p>challenge in this Writ Petition. The executing court held that no dispute<\/p>\n<p>involved in the suit was referred to the Lok Adalat, as the decree had<\/p>\n<p>already been passed. Though the Lok Adalat directed refund of the court<\/p>\n<p>fee as per Rules, the Rules do not provide for refund of any court fee in<\/p>\n<p>the execution proceedings. It was also held that Section 21 of the Legal<\/p>\n<p>Services Authorities Act contemplates only a compromise or settlement in<\/p>\n<p>respect of a matter in a pending suit.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>       4.   Learned counsel for the petitioner referred to the various<\/p>\n<p>provisions in the Legal Services Authorities Act.    He also relied on the<\/p>\n<p>decisions in <a href=\"\/doc\/393527\/\">Salem Advocate Bar Association, Tamil Nadu v. Union of<\/p>\n<p>W.P.<\/a>(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                        :: 3 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>India ((2005) 6 SCC 344), <a href=\"\/doc\/109249\/\">P.J.Thomas v. Thomas Job<\/a> ((2005) 6 SCC<\/p>\n<p>478, <a href=\"\/doc\/161877\/\">Vasudevan v. State of Kerala<\/a> (2003 (3) KLT 993) and Sankunni<\/p>\n<p>Somadhan v. Vinodhini Amma (2000 (1) KLT 640). The counsel for the<\/p>\n<p>petitioner also raised a contention that on the passing of the award by the<\/p>\n<p>Lok Adalat, the decree passed in the suit gets merged into the award and<\/p>\n<p>in substitution of the decree passed by the trial court, the award passed<\/p>\n<p>by the Lok Adalat would be treated as the decree. The counsel contends<\/p>\n<p>that, therefore, the court fee is liable to be refunded under Section 21 of<\/p>\n<p>the Legal Services Authorities Act.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>       5.   The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 was enacted to<\/p>\n<p>constitute legal services authorities to provide free and competent legal<\/p>\n<p>service to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities<\/p>\n<p>for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or<\/p>\n<p>other disabilities, and to organise Lok Adalats to secure that the operation<\/p>\n<p>of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Section 2(a) of the Legal Services Authorities Act defines &#8220;case&#8221; thus:<\/p>\n<p>        &#8220;&#8216;case&#8217; includes a suit or any proceeding before a court&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Section 2(aaa) defines Court as:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>               &#8220;&#8221;Court&#8221; means a civil, criminal or revenue court and<br \/>\n       includes any tribunal or any other authority constituted under<br \/>\n       any law for the time being in force, to exercise judicial or<br \/>\n       quasi-judicial functions.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                       :: 4 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>Section 19 provides for organisation of Lok Adalats. It provides that every<\/p>\n<p>State Authority or District Authority of the Supreme Court Legal Services<\/p>\n<p>Committee or every High Court Legal Services Committee or, as the case<\/p>\n<p>may be, Taluk Legal services Committee may organise Lok Adalats at<\/p>\n<p>such intervals and places. Section 19(5) of the Act reads as follows:<\/p>\n<p>              &#8220;19(5)    A Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to<br \/>\n       determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement<br \/>\n       between the parties to a dispute in respect of &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>              (i)    any case pending before; or<\/p>\n<p>              (ii)   any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction<br \/>\n                     of, and is not brought before,<\/p>\n<p>       any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised:&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Section 20 of the Act provides that when the parties agree for referring the<\/p>\n<p>case to the Lok Adalat for settlement and if the Court is prima facie<\/p>\n<p>satisfied that there are chances of such settlement, the Court shall refer<\/p>\n<p>the case to the Lok Adalat. Where any case is referred to the Lok Adalat<\/p>\n<p>under sub-section (1) of Section 20, the Lok Adalat shall proceed to<\/p>\n<p>dispose of the case or matter and arrive at a compromise or settlement<\/p>\n<p>between the parties. Section 21 of the Act reads as follows<\/p>\n<p>              &#8220;21. Award of Lok Adalat:- (1) Every award of the<br \/>\n       Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a decree of a civil court or,<br \/>\n       as the case may be, an order of any other court and where a<br \/>\n       compromise or settlement has been arrived at, by a Lok<br \/>\n       Adalat in a case referred to it under sub-section (1) of<br \/>\n       Section 20, the court-fee paid in such case shall be<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                        :: 5 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>       refunded in the manner provided under the Court Fees Act,<br \/>\n       1870 (7 of 1870).\n<\/p>\n<p>               (2) Every award made by a Lok Adalat shall be final<br \/>\n       and binding on all the parties to the dispute, and no appeal<br \/>\n       shall lie to any court against the award.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>       6. The Lok Adalat shall have the same powers as are vested in a<\/p>\n<p>civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, while trying a suit in<\/p>\n<p>respect of the matters mentioned in Section 22 of the Legal Services<\/p>\n<p>Authorities Act. Sub-section (2) of Section 22 provides that every Lok<\/p>\n<p>Adalat shall have the requisite powers to specify its own procedure for the<\/p>\n<p>determination of any dispute before it. Section 25 of the Act states that<\/p>\n<p>the provisions of the Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything<\/p>\n<p>inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in<\/p>\n<p>force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than the<\/p>\n<p>Act.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>       7. The definition of the expression &#8220;case&#8221; in Section 2(a) indicates<\/p>\n<p>that it includes a suit or any proceeding before a Court.        Therefore,<\/p>\n<p>execution proceedings also come within the expression &#8220;case&#8221;. There can<\/p>\n<p>be a valid reference of an Execution Petition to the Lok Adalat.          A<\/p>\n<p>compromise effected before the Lok Adalat shall be enforceable. The<\/p>\n<p>award shall be deemed to be &#8220;a decree of a civil court or, as the case may<\/p>\n<p>be, an order of any other court&#8221; as provided in Section 21 of the Act. But,<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                       :: 6 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>that does not mean that when an Execution Petition is referred to the Lok<\/p>\n<p>Adalat, the award passed by the Lok Adalat would be a decree. The<\/p>\n<p>deeming provision in Section 21 does not mean that an award passed by<\/p>\n<p>the Lok Adalat would be a decree passed in substitution of the decree<\/p>\n<p>already passed in the suit. It is not necessary that a matter coming up for<\/p>\n<p>consideration before the Lok Adalat should be a matter referred to by the<\/p>\n<p>civil court. Any Court, including the civil court, could refer the matter to<\/p>\n<p>the Lok Adalat. Section 19(5) uses the expression &#8220;court&#8221;. It does not say<\/p>\n<p>civil court. Definition of &#8220;Court&#8221; makes the position clear. Award of the<\/p>\n<p>Lok Adalat to be deemed to be a decree of the civil court, reference to the<\/p>\n<p>Lok Adalat shall be made by the civil court. In respect of matters referred<\/p>\n<p>to by other courts, Section 21 provides that it shall be deemed to be &#8220;an<\/p>\n<p>order of any other court&#8221;.   When a decree was passed by the civil court<\/p>\n<p>and a reference was made to the Lok Adalat in the execution proceeding,<\/p>\n<p>there is no question of the award of the Lok Adalat being a decree of a<\/p>\n<p>civil court which would have the effect of substituting the decree already<\/p>\n<p>passed by the civil court. When a matter is settled between the parties<\/p>\n<p>before the Lok Adalat, after the matter was referred by the executing court<\/p>\n<p>to the Lok Adalat, the award passed therein would be an award which is<\/p>\n<p>executable as an order passed by the executing court on the basis of the<\/p>\n<p>decree already passed by the civil court.     For that purpose, the award<\/p>\n<p>shall be deemed to be a decree. It only means that it can be enforced as<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                      :: 7 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>a decree.     Let us take an example of a settlement or compromise<\/p>\n<p>between the parties before the civil court. For example, in an Execution<\/p>\n<p>Petition, the parties arrive at a compromise and they file a compromise<\/p>\n<p>petition.   That compromise, if accepted, would be an order in the<\/p>\n<p>Execution Petition and it can be enforced in the execution proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>That does not mean that the decree passed in the suit is wiped out or<\/p>\n<p>substituted by the order passed by the executing court. So far as the<\/p>\n<p>parties are concerned, they are bound by the order passed on the basis of<\/p>\n<p>the compromise filed by them before the executing court.                That<\/p>\n<p>compromise is based on the decree and on the basis of a settlement<\/p>\n<p>arrived at after the decree. By a compromise in an Execution Petition, it<\/p>\n<p>cannot be said that the suit is compromised as provided under Rule 3 of<\/p>\n<p>Order XXIII of the Code of Civil Procedure. It can be treated as an<\/p>\n<p>adjustment as provided under Rule 2 of Order XXI of the Code of Civil<\/p>\n<p>Procedure. If that is a result of a compromise between the parties at the<\/p>\n<p>execution stage before the civil court, there could be no difference if such<\/p>\n<p>a compromise is entered into by the parties before the Lok Adalat on a<\/p>\n<p>reference made to it by the executing court. The conclusion is irresistible<\/p>\n<p>that a compromise arrived at between the parties in an Execution Petition<\/p>\n<p>before the Lok Adalat is not a decree, though it shall be deemed to be a<\/p>\n<p>decree for certain purposes.\n<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                      :: 8 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>        8. Let us examine the contention raised by the petitioner in another<\/p>\n<p>angle.    In a given case, there may be several defendants. Even if the<\/p>\n<p>decree was passed against all of them, the decree holder may think it fit<\/p>\n<p>to file Execution Petition against one or more of them and not against all<\/p>\n<p>of them. If such an Execution Petition is referred to the Lok Adalat and a<\/p>\n<p>compromise is entered into, the award would not be a decree in<\/p>\n<p>substitution of the decree passed against all the defendants.           The<\/p>\n<p>compromise would not be binding on those judgment debtors who were<\/p>\n<p>not made parties to the Execution Petition. This example would indicate<\/p>\n<p>that an award passed by the Lok Adalat on a compromise entered into<\/p>\n<p>between the parties in the Execution Petition would not be in substitution<\/p>\n<p>of the decree passed by the trial court.     But such an award would be<\/p>\n<p>binding on the parties to the compromise and the decree can be<\/p>\n<p>executed, in so far as they are concerned, only as per the terms of the<\/p>\n<p>compromise.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>        9. Disposal of an Execution Petition cannot be treated as disposal<\/p>\n<p>of the suit. The Execution Petition arises after a decree is passed in the<\/p>\n<p>suit. The compromise entered into between the parties in an Execution<\/p>\n<p>Petition cannot be treated as a compromise in the suit. The procedure to<\/p>\n<p>be adopted, the issues\/points to be decided and the decision to be<\/p>\n<p>rendered by the court in a suit and in an Execution Petition are distinct<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                      :: 9 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>and different. Let us also think in yet another angle. Article 136 of the<\/p>\n<p>Limitation Act provides for a period of limitation of twelve years for<\/p>\n<p>execution of a decree. There are categories of cases, for the execution of<\/p>\n<p>which, there is no period of limitation. If the contention raised by the<\/p>\n<p>petitioner is accepted, court fee levied in the suit could be refunded on a<\/p>\n<p>compromise entered into in an Execution Petition filed years after the date<\/p>\n<p>of passing of the decree. I am of the view that it cannot be done.<\/p>\n<p>       10. Under clause (i) of sub-section (5) of Section 19 of the Legal<\/p>\n<p>Services Authorities Act, a compromise or settlement is contemplated in<\/p>\n<p>respect of &#8220;any case pending before any court&#8221;. Going by Section 2(a) of<\/p>\n<p>the Act, &#8220;a case pending&#8221; may be a suit which is pending or an Execution<\/p>\n<p>Petition which is pending. A reference under sub-section (1) of Section 20<\/p>\n<p>of the Legal Services Authorities Act could be a case which is referred to<\/p>\n<p>in clause (i) of sub-section (5) of Section 19. If so, it should be a case<\/p>\n<p>pending before the court. When an Execution Petition is pending before<\/p>\n<p>the Court, reference to the Lok Adalat could be only of the Execution<\/p>\n<p>Petition and not of the suit which was already disposed of. The Court<\/p>\n<p>must be satisfied, as provided under clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of<\/p>\n<p>Section 20, that the matter to be referred to the Lok Adalat         is an<\/p>\n<p>appropriate one to be taken cognizance of by the Lok Adalat. These<\/p>\n<p>provisions would indicate that when an Execution Petition is referred to<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                     :: 10 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>the Lok Adalat, a compromise could be in respect of the disputes involved<\/p>\n<p>in the Execution Petition and not matters which are already settled as per<\/p>\n<p>the decree. The parties could however, agree in what manner the decree<\/p>\n<p>should be satisfied. But that does not have the effect of a compromise<\/p>\n<p>entered into in the suit.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>       11. The expression &#8220;in a case referred to it under sub-section (1) of<\/p>\n<p>Section 20&#8221; and the expression &#8220;the court fee paid in such case shall be<\/p>\n<p>refunded&#8221; occurring in Section 21(1) of the Legal Services Authorities Act<\/p>\n<p>are to be read together. Refund of court fee should be in respect of the<\/p>\n<p>case referred to the Lok Adalat. If an Execution Petition is &#8220;the case<\/p>\n<p>referred&#8221; to the Lok Adalat, court fee paid on the plaint cannot be<\/p>\n<p>refunded, as what is referred to the Lok Adalat is not the suit.    At best,<\/p>\n<p>refund could only be of any court fee paid in the Execution Petition, if it is<\/p>\n<p>otherwise permissible under law.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>       12. Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act provides for<\/p>\n<p>refund of court fee in the manner provided under the Court Fees Act,<\/p>\n<p>1870 (Act 7 of 1870).     Sub-section (2) of Section 2 of the Kerala Court<\/p>\n<p>Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959 reads as follows:<\/p>\n<p>              &#8220;2(2)    Where any other law contains provisions<br \/>\n       relating to the levy of fee in respect of proceedings under<br \/>\n       such other law, the provisions of this Act relating to the levy<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                     :: 11 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>       of fee in respect of such proceedings shall apply subject to<br \/>\n       the said provisions of such other law.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nIn view of sub-section (2) of Section 2, the provisions of the Kerala Court<\/p>\n<p>Fees and Suits Valuation Act would apply in the matter of refund of court<\/p>\n<p>fee under sub-section (1) of Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities<\/p>\n<p>Act.   Section 69 of the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act<\/p>\n<p>provides that when a suit or appeal is compromised or when a suit is<\/p>\n<p>decided solely on the admission of the parties without any investigation,<\/p>\n<p>one-half of the Court fee paid on the plaint or Memorandum of Appeal<\/p>\n<p>shall be ordered by the Court to be refunded to the parties by whom the<\/p>\n<p>same have been paid respectively.      In the case on hand, the suit was<\/p>\n<p>decided and a decree was passed.      No compromise was arrived at in the<\/p>\n<p>suit. There was no admission by the parties as provided in Section 69.<\/p>\n<p>When an Execution Petition arising out of such a decree is compromised<\/p>\n<p>between the parties before the Lok Adalat, refund of court fee paid on the<\/p>\n<p>plaint cannot be made under Section 69.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>       13. <a href=\"\/doc\/393527\/\">In Salem Advocate Bar Association, T.N. v. Union of India<\/a><\/p>\n<p>((2005) 6 SCC 344), the Supreme Court held in paragraph 63 thus:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>              &#8220;63.  Regarding refund of the court fee where the<br \/>\n       matter is settled by the reference to one of the modes<br \/>\n       provided in Section 89 of the Act, it is for the State<br \/>\n       Governments to amend the laws on the lines of amendment<br \/>\n       made in the Central Court Fees Act by the 1999 amendment<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                     :: 12 ::\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>       to the Code. The State Governments can consider making<br \/>\n       similar amendments in the State court fee legislations.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>No amendment has been made to the Kerala Court Fees and Suits<\/p>\n<p>Valuation Act as indicated by the Supreme Court in the aforesaid<\/p>\n<p>decision.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>      14. <a href=\"\/doc\/109249\/\">In P.T.Thomas v. Thomas Job<\/a> ((2005) 6 SCC 478), under the<\/p>\n<p>heading &#8220;benefits under Lok Adalat:&#8221; the Supreme Court held thus:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>              &#8220;19. Benefits under Lok Adalat<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>              1. There is no court fee and if court fee is already<br \/>\n      paid the amount will be refunded if the dispute is settled at<br \/>\n      Lok Adalat according to the rules.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>              2.   The basic features of Lok Adalat are the<br \/>\n      procedural flexibility and speedy trial of the disputes. There<br \/>\n      is no strict application of procedural laws like the Civil<br \/>\n      Procedure Code and the Evidence Act while assessing the<br \/>\n      claim by Lok Adalat.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>              3. The parties to the dispute can directly interact with<br \/>\n      the judge through their counsel which is not possible in<br \/>\n      regular courts of law.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>              4. The award by the Lok Adalat is binding on the<br \/>\n      parties and it has the status of a decree of a civil court and it<br \/>\n      is non-appealable, which does not cause the delay in the<br \/>\n      settlement of disputes finally.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>      In view of above facilities provided by &#8220;the Act&#8221; Lok Adalats<br \/>\n      are boon to the litigating public that they can get their<br \/>\n      disputes settled fast and free of cost amicably.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>      15. The question decided in <a href=\"\/doc\/161877\/\">Vasudevan v. State of Kerala<\/a> (2003<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                      :: 13 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>(3) KLT 993) is whether the plaintiff is entitled to refund of the full court<\/p>\n<p>fee or only half the court fee. That question does not arise in the present<\/p>\n<p>case. The decision in Sankunni Somadhan v. Vinodhini Amma (2000<\/p>\n<p>(1) KLT 640) does not apply to the facts of the present case.<\/p>\n<p>       16. The aforesaid discussion would lead to the conclusion that the<\/p>\n<p>writ petitioner\/decree holder is not entitled to refund of the court fee paid<\/p>\n<p>on the plaint, on account of the compromise arrived at between the<\/p>\n<p>parties before the Lok Adalat on a reference made to it in the Execution<\/p>\n<p>Petition.   The court below was right in holding so. However, I do not<\/p>\n<p>agree with the finding of the Court below that Section 21 of the Legal<\/p>\n<p>Services Authorities Act contemplates only a compromise or settlement in<\/p>\n<p>respect of a matter in a pending suit. The Writ Petition fails and it is<\/p>\n<p>accordingly dismissed.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>       17. The laudable object sought to be achieved by the enactment of<\/p>\n<p>the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 is relevant while considering the<\/p>\n<p>question whether amendment of the Kerala Court Fees and Suits<\/p>\n<p>Valuation Act     is necessary, as indicated in Salem Advocate Bar<\/p>\n<p>Association&#8217;s case referred to above. Though the Court Fees Act, 1870<\/p>\n<p>(Act 7 of 1870) was amended, the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation<\/p>\n<p>Act is not suitably amended to promote settlement of cases before the<\/p>\n<p>W.P.(C) NO.8261 OF 2009<\/p>\n<p>                                       :: 14 ::\n<\/p>\n<p>Lok Adalats. By the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1999 (Act<\/p>\n<p>46 of 1999), Section 16 was inserted in the Court Fees Act, 1870, which<\/p>\n<p>reads as follows:\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>               &#8220;16. Refund of Fee:- Where the Court refers the<br \/>\n        parties to the suit to any one of the mode of settlement of<br \/>\n        dispute referred to in section 89 of the Code of Civil<br \/>\n        Procedure, 1908 the plaintiff shall be entitled to a certificate<br \/>\n        from the Court authorising him to receive back from the<br \/>\n        collector, the full amount of the fee paid in respect of such<br \/>\n        plaint.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Government may consider the question in the larger interests of the<\/p>\n<p>litigating public and do the needful.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>        The Registry will send a copy of this judgment to the Chief<\/p>\n<p>Secretary to the Government.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>                                                          (K.T.SANKARAN)<br \/>\n                                                                 Judge<\/p>\n<p>ahz\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kerala High Court Ambika Rajan vs Basheera Beevi on 3 April, 2009 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM WP(C).No. 8261 of 2009(O) 1. AMBIKA RAJAN, W\/O. RAJAN, &#8230; Petitioner Vs 1. BASHEERA BEEVI, W\/O. NAJEEM, &#8230; Respondent 2. NAJEEM, S\/O. FAZULUDEEN, For Petitioner :SRI.J.JAYAKUMAR For Respondent : No Appearance The Hon&#8217;ble MR. Justice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-court","category-kerala-high-court"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ambika Rajan vs Basheera Beevi on 3 April, 2009 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/ambika-rajan-vs-basheera-beevi-on-3-april-2009\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ambika Rajan vs Basheera Beevi on 3 April, 2009 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; 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