Lawyers, litigants suffer due to shortage of stamps, court fees

Gulam Rabbani :
A severe crisis of judicial and non-judicial stamps and court fees has been emerged at courts across the country including the Supreme Court.

Lawyers are facing huge sufferings due to this shortage.

Besides, the litigants are also counting more costs to run their cases.

Lawyers said they are purchasing stamps and court fees with additional costing due to its shortage.

Sometimes lawyers are becoming bound to file cases with the permission of the courts by only depositing money in the bank without getting the court fees. Later they are collecting the court fees and submitting those to the court. It has now become a source of extreme sufferings.

On the other hand, stamp vendors complain that they are not getting available court fees and stamps as per the demand even after two or three months after depositing money in the bank.

This shortage is forcing them to sell the court fees at higher prices many times.

In this situation, the Supreme Court administration has written to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank recently to provide judicial stamps and court fees under a special arrangement.

In the letter signed by Supreme Court’s High Court Division Registrar (Judiciary) Sk M Tofayel Hasan asked the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to ensure normal supply of stamps, cartridge paper and court fees for all subordinate courts and tribunals and also for the Supreme Court.

It is learnt that court fees and stamps are required in 34 types of cases.

There is no opportunity to file a case or an application without this court fee.

Court fees ranging from Tk 2 to Tk 5000 are available.

The Security Printing Corporation prints court fees and stamps.

They only arrange the printing as per the demand of postal department.

After printing those are sent to the treasury of 63 district administrations without storing those.

Then stamp vendors buy from there.

Apart from this, a number of stamps and court fees are also sent to the post offices across the country.

Most of these are revenue stamps.

However, court fees and judicial stamps are usually provided by the vendors on the court premises.

Sources said currently court fees of Tk 4, Tk 5 and Tk 10 are not available in the market.

Even if available, those are being sold at a higher price.

Court fee of Tk 10 is charged Tk 12 to 15.

If one goes to deposit a big court fee in the bank, he may have to come back.

And complaints were also received that stamps of Tk 100 are being sold for Tk 130 to 150.

Stamp vendor of Dhaka Judge Court Nizam Uddin said, “The court fee is not available even after two months of depositing money through treasury in the bank.

I myself deposited an amount on July 26 this year.

I haven’t got those yet.”

Md Shafiqul Islam, the Public Relations Officer of the Supreme Court, said “In places where there is a shortage of court fees and revenue stamps, cases are being accepted without them for the time being.

Later the lawyers will submit the court fees and stamps during the hearing of the cases.

This system is also mentioned in the law.”

He said appropriate authorities have been informed about the issue from the Supreme Court Administration.

This problem will be solved soon, added the official.