Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
VIJAYAWADA-GUNTUR-TENALI URBANDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY & ORS.
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
MOVVA RANGA RAO & ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 22/04/1996
BENCH:
RAMASWAMY, K.
BENCH:
RAMASWAMY, K.
G.B. PATTANAIK (J)
CITATION:
JT 1996 (5) 427 1996 SCALE (4)316
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
JUDGMENT:
O R D E R
Leave granted.
The only question is: whether the respondent is
entitled to a minimum fee of Rs.2,000/- in each of the
reference cases in which the reference Court has certified
it to be the fee payable to the respondent? The respondent
appeared as a counsel for the appellant on land acquisition
reference initially as Government Pleader and after he
ceased as such, he filed Vakalatnama on behalf of the
appellant and appeared as private counsel. On the basis of
the memorandum of costs supplied to the respondent, he
claimed the amount from the appellant but the appellant has
disputed the liability. On a reference made to the Advocate
General of Andhra Pradesh, the Advocate General has
certified that the fee claimed is correct one and the
respondent is entitled to the same. However, the respondent
being not satisfied with it, insisted upon the proper
fixation of the fee payable to him. Since the appellants
have not been making payment of the fee to which the
respondent is entitled, the respondent has filed the writ
petition in the High Court. The Division Bench of the High
Court in W.A.No.590/94, by judgment and order dated
September 5, 1995 has held that once the court has fixed the
Fee, the appellants are bound to pay the same and they
cannot go behind the fee fixed by the Court.
The High Court seems to have proceeded on the premise
that under the Advocates’ Fees Rules the Court fixes the fee
and that parties are bound by the same by holding that it is
a contractual relation. There is a distinction in payment of
the fee between the private counsel and the State counsel.
As far as the State counsel are concerned, their fee is
regulated by the rules prescribed by the State Government
and thereunder the Government counsel is entitled to the fee
or the fee fixed by the Court. In the latter event, the
Government is bound to pay the fee. As regards the private
counsel, the High Court of A.P. has made the rules, viz.,
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Advocates Fees Rules. The same rules are in vogue as on
date.
Rule 8(9) prescribes fee in other cases. It
contemplates prescribing the fee in land acquisition cases
envisaging that "in Land Acquisition Cases as between the
Collector and the claimants, the fee shall be 5% on the
amount claimed in excess of the award subject to minimum of
Rs.100/- and a maximum of Rs.2,000/-. As between rival
claimants, the fee shall be calculated as for suits under
Rule 4(II).
It would, therefore, be clear that in cases where the
fees is to be fixed on the basis of the claim on a
reference, the court has to calculate the fee on the amount
claimed in the reference and awarded under Section 26
subject to a minimum of Rs.100/- at the rate of 5% on the
amount claimed by the claimants and the maximum thereof
would be Rs.2,000/-. It would thus be clear that in every
case, necessarily, it would not be Rs.2,000/-. It depends
upon the valuation of the claim awarded under Section 26 and
the amount to be calculated varies between the minimum and
the maximum. If the amount claimed is far in excess of 5%
and fee calculated exceeds 2,000/- the court has to limit
the fee to Rs.2,000/- in spite of the amount awarded, it
would secure fee of the advocates exceeding Rs.2,000/-. It
does not per se yield to the respondent that in each case,
counsel would be paid Rs.2,000/-. In every case, the maximum
of Rs.2,000/- should not be required to be determined.
Shri Mohan, learned senior counsel for the respondent,
undertakes to get all the decrees and the claims made in the
decrees settled and he also assures to sit with the counsel
for the appellant and both would calculate the fee to which
in each of the case the respondent would be entitled to.
They are given four weeks’ time for making the calculations.
After the calculations are worked out, the amount may be
notified to the Registry and the same will be incorporated
in the order.
The appeal is accordingly disposed of. No costs.