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Section 6: Fees on documents filed, etc., in Mufassal Courts or in public offices

Court Fees Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1870
Section 5 All 36 Sections Schedules I & II Section 7

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 6

Section 6 of the Court-Fees Act, 1870 prohibits all subordinate civil and criminal courts and public offices from receiving, filing, or acting upon any document chargeable with court fees unless the proper fee is paid.

  • Core Legal Standard: Section 6 establishes the universal fiscal rule for all courts outside the High Court (commonly referred to in the statute as Mufassal Courts) and public offices.
  • Framing & Alteration of Charges: It mandates that no document of any of the kinds specified as chargeable in the First or Second Schedule shall be filed, exhibited, or recorded in any court of justice, or received or furnished by any public officer, unless the proper court fee has been paid in respect thereof.

The section renders the payment of court fee a condition precedent for judicial cognizance. The provision operates in conjunction with Order VII Rule 11(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which commands rejection of the plaint where the court fee is deficient and the plaintiff fails to rectify the deficit within the time stipulated by the court.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Mannan Lal v. Chhotey Lal, (1970) 1 SCC 769: The Supreme Court held that Section 6 must be read alongside Section 149 CPC; a plaint presented with deficient court fee is not void ab initio, and upon payment of the deficit fee with leave of the court, the document is validated from the date of presentation.
  • Gangavishan v. Premchand, AIR 1974 SC 1702: The Court affirmed that Section 6 protects public revenue and prevents proceedings from being initiated without statutory fees, but procedural flexibility allows cure of bona fide mistakes.
Legal Commentary:

Section 6 is the foundational provision governing institution of plaints, written statements containing set-off/counterclaims, execution petitions, and applications in district and subordinate courts. Litigants must ensure accurate valuation at the threshold; failure to cure a deficit fee after notice leads to mandatory rejection of the plaint under Order VII Rule 11(c).

Section 5 All 36 Sections Schedules I & II Section 7