Lawyers, under the aegis of the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association, resort to a pen-down protest. (image for representation)
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

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.

‘Hike without rationale’

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.

The lawyers also questioned the government’s move to keep the report under wraps. Some lawyers who sought copies of the report by filing applications under the Right to Information Act were denied the report, they said.

The government hoped to collect an additional income of ₹150 crore annually through the fee hike, which could have been easily realised by pursuing the cases in which parties owed the government a huge amount of money, they said.

The BJP legal cell demanded immediate revocation of the government order. The cell pledged its support to the ongoing protests, said a statement issued by P. Krishnadas, the State convener.