Court Fee
The statutory fee, usually paid via stamp, required to institute or file a proceeding in an Indian court.
In Simple Terms
The fee you pay the court itself just to file your case — separate from any lawyer's fee.
Detailed Legal Meaning
Court fee is a fee payable to the government (historically via judicial stamp paper, increasingly through e-stamping/online payment) as a precondition to instituting a suit, appeal, or certain applications, calculated under the applicable Court Fees Act or a State's own court-fees legislation — commonly ad valorem (a percentage of the value of the relief claimed) for money or property suits, and a fixed amount for many petitions and applications. A plaint or petition insufficiently stamped is liable to be returned for the deficiency to be made good before it can be registered.
Relevant Acts & Sections
- Court Fees Act, 1870Search on India Code ↗
Common Court Usage
Verified by the court's filing counter/registry before a plaint or petition is formally registered as a numbered case.