Lawyers of six district courts on Wednesday called off their indefinite hunger strike against the ten-fold hike in court fees after the Delhi government assured them of considering their demands.
The Co-ordination Council of All Bar Associations in Delhi announced its decision to call off the strike, saying the city government has proposed to hold talks with them to discuss their demands regarding roll back of the hike.
Rajiv Jai, Chairman of the Council and President of the New Delhi Bar Association, said that they are calling off their hunger strike, which was started yesterday, as they have received a written assurance from Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Revenue Minister A K Walia.
“We have received written assurance from the Delhi Chief Minister and the Revenue Minister that they want to hold talks with us to discuss our demand of roll back of the hike in court fees,” Jai said.
The lawyers had begun the hunger strike at the Patiala House complex here yesterday demanding roll back of the Delhi government”s decision to hike the court fees through the notification of the Court Fee (Amendment) Act.
On August 6, the lawyers had abstained from work in the six district courts at Patiala House, Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Rohini, Saket and Dwarka, saying the common people will have to suffer due to the government”s decision to notify the Court Fee (Amendment) Act.
The Delhi government had recently decided to increase the court fees ten-fold to shore up its coffers by around Rs 450 crore annually.
The Delhi Revenue Minister had earlier said the court fees in the city were last hiked in 1958 by the Punjab government which were extended to Delhi and the same have continued till date in the national capital.
Source: PTI
