- This topic has 45 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 4 months ago by
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UHi everyone,
I’m in a difficult situation and need some advice. I filed a civil case for a property dispute, and my lawyer asked me to pay a percentage of the property value as a court fee. This amounted to around 5 lakhs, which we paid.
For the past year, I’ve been repeatedly asking my lawyer for the receipt for this fee, but he keeps ignoring me. Whenever he does send something, he deletes his messages on WhatsApp.
Now, we’re switching to a new lawyer for the case, and the old lawyer claims that the 5 lakhs we paid is his fee (not the court fee). We’ve already paid him 1 lakh as his fee, and when I made the payment of 5 lakhs, I mentioned it was for the court fee.
We’re really stuck here, and it’s becoming difficult to travel and deal with this situation. Does anyone have advice on what I can do in this case?
Thanks for any help!
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SLEGAL VIOLATIONS
Illegal Fee Structure
Charging fees as a percentage of property value violates:
Supreme Court judgment in V.C. Rangadurai vs D. Gopalan (1979 AIR 281)
Section 49(1)(c) of Advocates Act 1961 (prohibition of “unfair remuneration”)
Rule 20 of Bar Council of India Rules (prohibition of contingency fees in civil cases)
Transparency Issues
Failure to provide receipts breaches Rule 11(IV) of BCI Rules requiring maintenance of:
Receipt books
Fee registers
ACTION STEPS
Document Evidence
Bank statement showing ₹5L transfer with “court fee” memo
WhatsApp message screenshots (check phone backup at Settings > Chats > Chat Backup)
Copy of vakalatnama showing agreed fee terms
File Complaint
Draft complaint containing:
Lawyer’s enrollment number (find via https://www.barcouncilofindia.org/enrollno/)
Timeline of events (dates, payment details)
Prayer for relief (refund + disciplinary action)
Submit to State Bar Council with:
₹500 court fee stamp
Affidavit on ₹10 non-judicial stamp paper
25 copies of complaint
Alternative Resolutions
Mediation: Use ODR platforms like Presolv360 (fees ~₹5,000)
Lok Adalat: Free settlement through NALSA portal (https://nalsa.gov.in/lok-adalat)
RECOVERY OPTIONS
Civil Suit: File under Order IV Rule 1 CPC for money recovery
Consumer Case: File in District Commission under CPA 2019 (legal services covered under Indian Medical Association vs V.P. Shantha 1995)
PREVENTIVE TIPS
Always get fee agreements in writing as per Rule 11(III) BCI Rules
Verify court fees physically at court registry counter (ask for “fee verification report”)
Use cheques/NEFT with clear payment remarks like “For court fee in case no XYZ”
TIMELINE: Bar Council complaints typically get resolved within 90-180 days as per Section 36B of Advocates Act. For urgent relief, approach High Court under Article 226 of Constitution.
Sources:
Advocates Act 1961
BCI Rules 1975
NALSA (Legal Services to Poor) Guidelines 2020
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HI am curious if this is a response generated from ChatGPT or other AI?? Definitely seems like it.
Just keep in mind that you can’t do consumer case against advocate. There is a recent supreme court judgment of 2024 that says services provided by legal professional do not fall within “services” under consumer protection act. You will have to pursue remedies under the advocates act against a lawyer.
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SThat ruling is precisely about “deficiency in service”, and the case here is that of fraud.
Deficiency in service is like, one cannot file a case against a lawyer because he was not able to win a case, or he did not cite any case laws eventhough they were present etc etc. Here it is a case of fraud. Case will not be filed because he was a lawyer but because he was being a cheat/fraud.
On a lighter note, let me give an alternate example from another profession, one cannot sue a doctor because his medicine did not work but another doctor’s medicine worked, but the same doctor can be sued if he gives two antagonistic medicines which end up worsening someone’s health, because here it is a criminal negligence.
For further clarification, just Google ‘what is not covered under deficiency in service in case of lawyers’
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HYou should stop arguing on this if you don’t know what you are talking about. You did not read past the 1st headnote of the judgment shared by me or you would not be saying this. Also, fraud is a criminal offence and a consumer court has no criminal jurisdiction to entertain standalone allegations of fraud / cheating. If you want to allege fraud or cheating then file Police Complaint and not consumer complaint. Consumer Court’s jurisdiction is limited to “deficiency in service” and “unfair trade practice”, and the complainant must be a “consumer” in relation to “goods” or “services”. The judgment I have shared holds that a client is not a consumer and the legal services provided by an advocate do not fall within the definition of services under the consumer protection act. Hence,
Also, your example of medical professional is the worst example you could have given because they are covered by Indian Medical Association V. VP Shantha judgment which is mentioned in your ChatGPT response. After the judgment which I had shared was passed by Supreme Court, VP Shantha judgment was also challenged in view of the recent judgment and Supreme Court refused to entertain the challenge. That is why medical professionals can still be sued in consumer court.
And did you even read Section 35 of Advocates Act before asking me to?? That section deals with professional misconduct and punishment by disciplinary committee. It has got nothing to do with Consumer Protection Act.
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UDo you have the letter of engagement with the lawyer stating the fees ? And proof of payment of the 5+1 payment ?
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USubmit a written complaint alongwith proof of malpractice against the lawyer before the bar association in which he is a member and also forward a copy of complaint to Bar Council of India.
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UDid he ask for the money over email ? Any receipts he sent across ? You can complain with the Bar council
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BLawyer here based in Delhi. If you have any record which can prove that the fee that you transferred was demanded by the lawyer as ‘court fee’, necessary steps could be taken.
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AYour best option is to approach the State Bar council. You should also consult the new lawyer you have engaged as to whether the court fee has been paid or not.
If you are engaging a new lawyer, you should also preferably take an NOC from the previously engaged lawyer.-
UNOC has been obtained. The new lawyer informed me that the fee has to be paid nearing the judgement
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SIf only sale DEED is under challenge court fee would be not more than 50 rupees if the suit is to declare you as absolute owner than court fee would be based on valuation of property and without paying court fee no suit will be registered
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