The trial court has no jurisdiction to remit court fees based solely on an income certificate filed by the plaintiff. Such remissions can be granted only on receipt of a statutory certificate of eligibility in the prescribed form from the respective Legal Aid Committee.

G. C. Bharuka, J.-The present revision application is directed against the order dated 4.9.91, passed by learned 2nd Sub judge. Buxar, in Title Suit No. 65 (A) of 1968 by which the Court below has rejected the petition filed by the plaintiff petitioner seeking exemption from paying court-fees on the ground that her annual income is below 35001-.

2. On 15.7.91 an application was filed by the petitioner before the Court below seeking exemption from payment of court-fees along with an Income certificate granted by the Circle Officer, Buxar, to the effect that the annual income of the petitioner is only Rs. 3500/- per annum. The defendants filed their objection to the grant of such prayer of exemption from payment of court-fees.

3. The Court below after hearing the parties rejected the application filed by the plaintiff- petitioner inter alia, on the ground that the application has not been filed in the prescribed proforma.

4. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has assailed the impugned order on the ground that the law does not envisage any prescribed proforma and once a certificate of income issued by the Circle Officer is filed before the Court certifying income to be less than Rs. 6000/- then it is incumbent upon the trial Court to grant exemption from payment of court fee. In support of his submissions learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the case of Sk. Md. Osaid v. Sk. Abdul Wahid, reported in 1985 PLJR, 523 Learned counsel has also p1aced reliance on a Government notification No. S. O. 157 dated 8.7.1988 issued by the State Government under Section 35 of the Court-fees Act, 1870 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act only).

5. Since in this case the dispute involved is with regard to payment of court-fees, therefore, the State of Bihar was made a party to the application and accordingly learned Advocate General appeared in the case. He has submitted that for availing the benefit of the remissions envisaged under the aforesaid notification, the petitioner should have followed the procedure laid down under the pro visions of Bihar State Weaker Sections Legal Aid Act, 1983 (hereinafter to be referred to as the 'legal Aid Act' only) and she could not have sought exemption from payment of court-fee by only filing some application in the trial Court along with an alleged certificate of income issued by the Circle Officer.

6. For proper appreciation of the rival content ions it is necessary to examine the provisions of the Court-fees Act, the notifications issued thereunder, as also the provisions of the Legal Aid Act. The notification in question providing remission of court-fees in relation to certain classes of people has been issued under Section 35 of the Court fees Act as substituted by Court-fees (Bihar Amendment) Act, 1977. which reads as under:

"35. Power to remit or reduce Court fee's.-The State Government may, subject to such condition or restriction as it may think fit to impose, by order published in the Official Gazette reduce or remit in relation to all or any class of persons, in the whole or any part of the State all or any of the fees mentioned in the First and Second Schedules to this Act and may in like manner cancel or vary such order."

The First notification in the series is S. O. 1207 dated 19th August, 1981, which was issued after the enforcement of the Bihar State Legal Aid Scheme, 1981, published in Hindi with authoritative text translated in English, pursuant to Article 348 (3) of the Constitution. The Hindi and the English texts have been published in the Gazette, which are being quoted hereunder :-

,lŒ vksŒ&1207 19 vxLr] 1981- & fcgkj jkT; esa ykxw gksus ds fy, dksVZ Qhl ,sDV] 1870 ¼vf/kfu;e 7] 1870½ dh /kkjk 35 }kjk iznRr ‘kfDr;ksa dk iz;ksx djrs gq, fcgkj jkT;iky fuEukafdr dksVZ Qhl dk ifjgkj Lohd`r djrs gSaA

1- dksVZ Qhl ¼fcgkj la’kks/ku½ vf/kfu;e] 1977 fcgkj vf/kfu;e 20@1977½ dh /kkjk 3 ds vuqlkj dkuwuh lgk;rk ikus okys lHkh vuqlwfpr tkfr] tutkfr ,oa Hkwfeghu O;fDr;