The Supreme Court ruled that litigants who settle their disputes privately, without resorting to court-referred Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, are not entitled to a refund of court fees.
The Court clarified that court fee refunds are permissible only when a case is referred to arbitration, conciliation, judicial settlement (including Lok Adalat), or mediation, and is resolved through such a process.
A bench comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah was hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the High Court’s refusal to refund court fees. The petitioner had settled the dispute amicably outside the court without utilizing any ADR mechanism and sought a refund for the fees paid at the trial, first appeal, and second appeal stages.
Upholding the High Court’s decision, the Supreme Court observed that since the second appeal was decided based on a private settlement between the parties and not through an ADR forum, there was no error in denying the refund.
The settlement in terms of which the second appeal was decided by the High Court was not based on a reference to any recognized ADR authority or forum but was a private agreement outside the court, the Court noted.
Concluding that the petitioner had no right to a refund, the Court held that the High Court committed no error or illegality in rejecting the request.
Case Title: Jage Ram v. Ved Kaur & Ors.
