LAHORE: A litigant seeking recovery of a person from the illegal custody of police or a private person has to pay Rs 800 as the Court Bailiff Fee which is contrary to the law of land.

From January 1, 2008 to April 21, 2008, as many as 330 habeas corpus petitions have been filed with the District and Session Court Lahore which has only 4 bailiffs to deal with them. The sum of court bailiff fee is Rs 264,000 for 330 cases. It means Rs 88,000 is share money of a court bailiff in four months. To my surprise, a bailiff earns about Rs 22,000 per month in lieu of the Court Bailiff Fee for which there appears no legal and constitutional cover.

Interestingly, there is no mention of bailiff fee in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1860, General Clause Act and Lahore High Court Rules but both the Lahore High Court and the District and Session Court directs litigants to deposit the Court Bailiff Fee without which neither the bailiff is sent to conduct raids nor is it possible for a litigant to take a bailiff to a place where a person is detained. So, a discrepancy between theory and practice prevails not only in session courts of the province but also at the Lahore High Court.

A study of relevant laws by this subscribe and a survey of the Lahore High Court and District and Sessions Court, Lahore transpired that there was no legal or the constitutional cover for the Court Bailiff Fee. Above all, charging the Court Bailiff Fee is against the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution

Article 4 of the Constitution reads “All citizens are equal before Law and no person shall be compelled to do what the law does not require him to do”. It was further noted that charging of Court Bailiff Fee was also against the Constitution when it states “the State shall provide and ensure inexpensive justice to citizens.”

A Lahore High Court official Criminal Branch official told The Post that the Court Bailiff Fee was charged to pay TADA to the court bailiffs for the day it works and conducts

An official of LHC said that the fee was charged under the traveling allowance rules of LHC.

The fee is charged only in case the bailiff conducts raids for the recovery of a person. Otherwise, the judge issues notices to respective station house officers for the recovery of a person. People usually file habeas corpus petition for the recovery of a person from illegal custody of police or a private person or. However, a mother can recover her minor children from the custody of his father through habeas corpus petition.

Lower courts following in LHC’s footprints: D&SJ

Accepts there’s no notification or rule to impose Court Bailiff Fee

Staff Reporter

LAHORE: Talking to The Post, District and Sessions Judge, Lahore (D&SJ) Nair Ali Shah termed the Court Bailiff Fee legal, saying that whenever a bailiff was deputed to recover a person from an illegal custody, it should be paid its fee. When asked, whether there is any legal cover to the fee, the learned judge said it was a practice of Lahore High Court which had been followed by district and sessions courts of Punjab. Asked whether there is any notification or any circular issued by the Lahore High Court in relation to impose the Court Bailiff Fee, the said learned judge said he had been just following the tradition.

I will bring it to CJ’s notice: LHC Registrar

Staff Reporter

LAHORE Talking to The Post, Lahore High Court (LHC) Registrar Parvez Ali Chawla accepted that there was no legal cover to the Court Bailiff Fee.

He said that he would bring the matter to the notice of the honorable Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Fee is unjustified: LBA president

Staff Reporter

LAHORE Lahore Bar Association President Manzoor Qadir said the state should bear the cost of the recovery of a citizen from an illegal custody as liberty was basic fundamental right of a citizen. “It is unjustified that if a person is detained by police illegally, his heirs would pay for his release,” he added.

D&SJs decide fee: LHC official

Staff Reporter

LAHORE: Iqbal Chohan, a court bailiff official, told The Post that it was the discretionary power of a district and sessions judge to decide the Court Bailiff Fee, adding presently the D&SJ office had fixed a sum of Rs 800 for filing a habeas corpus petition under section the 491 of CrPC. He said there was no legal frame or notification in which bailiff fee had been determined.

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