A plaintiff is entitled to a refund of court fees under Section 65-B when a settlement occurs post-decree.

Order (Oral)

Reportable 17/07/2025

1. Petitioner (plaintiff) seeks quashing of an order dated 04.03.2025 (Annex.-7) passed by learned Additional District Judge No.5, Bikaner in Civil Suit No.12/2023, vide which, the application filed under Section 65-B of the Rajasthan Court Fees & Suit Valuation Act, 1961, seeking refund of the court fees paid at the time of filing of the suit, was rejected.

2. The plaintiff filed a civil suit in the year 2023 for recovery of money against the respondents before the learned trial court. After the suit was filed, notices were issued to the respondents, but they failed to appear, leading the learned trial court to initiate ex-parte proceedings on 15.12.2023. The petitioner then submitted his evidence, and the learned trial court decreed the suit in his favor on 05.02.2024. The respondents did not comply with the order, prompting the petitioner to file an execution petition, for which notices were again issued.

2.1. During the pendency of the execution petition, the parties have entered into a compromise and executed a settlement agreement, on the basis of which, payment was made to the petitioner by the respondents. Consequently, the execution petition was listed for compromise in the National Lok Adalat and was disposed of by order dated 22.12.2024.

2.2. Based on the compromise, the petitioner filed an application under Section 65-B of the Rajasthan Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act, seeking refund of the court fees paid at the time of filing the suit. However, the learned trial court rejected this application without providing proper reasons.

3. For ease of reference, translation of relevant portion (as provided) of the impugned order dated 04.03.2025 is as under:- :-

“Heard the parties, documents and relevant law were perused. Section 65B of the Rajasthan Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act Refund of fees:- Where the Court refers the parties to a suit to any of the modes of settlement of dispute specified in Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act No. 5 of 1908) and the matter is settled in any of the modes provided under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the plaintiff shall be entitled to receive from the Court a certificate authorising him to receive from the Collector the refund of the full amount of fees paid in respect of such plaint.

In the present matter, the suit has already been disposed of, and the decree was passed on 05.02.2024, based on compromise/settlement, and it was recorded in the order sheet that the total settled amount is ₹14,66,828/– (Rupees Fourteen Lakh Sixty-Six Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-Eight only). Therefore, the original suit has already been disposed of through compromise. Currently, the suit is not pending, and based on this situation, the order and decree dated 05.02.2024 have already been issued. At present, execution of the judgment and decree dated 05-02-2024 is being sought by the plaintiff in the second proceeding, wherein the plaintiff / applicant / decree-holder has stated that a compromise has been reached between the parties at the stage of execution of the decree. No determination has been made by the Hon’ble Supreme Court or Hon’ble High Courts to the effect that, after a decree has been passed, the court fee attached to the earlier claim can be refunded to the plaintiff. Therefore, in the present matter, the clear position is that the court fee which the plaintiff now seeks to recover was the very basis on which the judgment and decree dated 05-02-2024 had already been passed. There is no law or rule that allows refund of court fees after the judgment and decree have been passed.

Therefore, the application filed by learned advocate/applicant/plaintiff Harish Madan under Section 65B of the Rajasthan Court Fees and Suit Valuation Act, b