2020 (1) AKR 97 ::AIROnline 2019 KAR 1728 ::(2020) 1 Kant LJ 174

Karnataka High Court

Hon'ble Judge(s): Abhay S Oka , C.J. AND Mohammad Nawaz , J

(A) Court-fees Act (7 of 1870) , S.16— Karnataka Court-fees and Suits Valuation Act (16 of 1958) , S.66(1)— (As amended by Karnataka Act 9 of 2015) Legal Services Authorities Act (39 of 1987) , S.20, S.21— Refund of Court-fees - Settlement of dispute before Lok Adalat - S. 16 of Central Court-fees Act, 1870 will apply and refund of 100% Court-fees paid on plaint or counter-claim shall be made available - Notwithstanding S. 66(1) of Act of 1958, which provides only 75% of amount of Court-fee refundable. General Clauses Act (10 of 1897) , S.6— In the case of settlement of suits culminating into an Award made by the Lok Adalat as provided in Ss. 20 and 21 of the National Legal Services Act, 1987, S. 16 of the Central Court-fees Act, 1870, will apply and refund of 100% of the court fees paid on the plaint or the counter-claim, as the case may be, shall be made available, notwithstanding sub-section (1) of S. 66 of the Karnataka Court-fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1958. As per S. 21(1) of the Act of 1987, the provisions relating to refund of court fees under the Central Court-fees Act stand incorporated and therefore, S. 16 of the Central Court-fees Act stands incorporated in S. 21 (1) of the Act of 1987. Thus, the provisions of S. 16 of the Central Court-fees Act will apply to a suit settled before the Lok Adalat. The Central Court-....