A Division Bench of Justices Anil Khsetarpal and Bharat Parashar observed that following an amendment to Section 16 of the Court Fees Act by the Delhi government, refund of court fee when the case is settled is a “substantive statutory entitlement”.
“In view of the aforesaid, as and when, a matter is settled with or without invoking any modes referred to in Section 89 of CPC, the Court, while disposing of the matter in terms so arrived at, shall direct refund of the court fees. The Court shall also issue a certificate authorizing the parties to receive back full amount of court fees in respect of claim/counter-claim, thereby obviating the necessity of any obligations by parties to seek such refund,” the Court said.
The Court also directed the Delhi government to take necessary administrative steps to ensure that such refunds are processed in a time-bound manner upon presentation of the certificate.
“Ld Standing Counsel (Civil), GNCTD is requested to ensure that the concerned authorities take necessary administrative steps in all such kind of cases, thereby avoiding unnecessary litigations in the Courts,” the Court ordered.
It also sent its order for circulation among all the Principal District and Sessions Judges.