The Allahabad High Court has ruled that no amounts shall be charged for photo identification on affidavits filed before the Court, declaring such practices by Bar Associations as unlawful and contrary to the constitutional mandate of ensuring access to justice. The order was issued by Justice Pankaj Bhatia in Writ-C No. 3389 of 2025 filed by M/s Rajdhani Inter State Transport Co., New Delhi.
Background
The petitioner challenged the rejection of affidavits sworn before Notary Publics and the levying of charges ranging from ₹400 to ₹500 by the High Court Bar Associations for photo identification, which was being enforced without legal sanction.
In previous proceedings, the Court had sought clarification from the High Court administration regarding the validity of notarised affidavits and the legal basis for the fees charged.
Parties’ Submissions
Shri Gaurav Mehrotra, appearing for the High Court, stated on instructions from the Registrar General that “there is no proposal to reject the petitions, applications and other filing which are supported by the affidavit sworn by Notary Public.” He confirmed that affidavits notarised under the Notaries Act are valid for filing.
Regarding the fee collection, the Court was informed that although the High Court Bar Associations were restrained from charging ₹500 by earlier Division Bench orders in PIL No. 55060 of 2015 and Writ-C No. 33750 of 2022, the practice continued in both Allahabad and Lucknow.
Shri Tushar Mittal, Amicus and Shri S.M. Singh Roykwar, assisting the Court, argued that charging litigants for photo identification violated constitutional principles, particularly the right to access justice. It was contended that such charges are not authorised by law and amount to a deterrent for litigants, especially the economically weaker sections.
Senior Advocate Shri J.N. Mathur criticised the list of 272 possible filing defects uploaded by the High Court, claiming it lacked statutory basis and created undue hurdles.
Court’s Analysis
The Court examined Chapter IV Rule 2 and Rule 3 of the Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952, which empower the Chief Justice to regulate the fees for verification of affidavits. The administrative orders issued by the High Court permitted a fee of ₹125 for photo identification, and only under specific guidelines. Any charges beyond this amount were never authorised.
Justice Bhatia observed that “linking of the welfare measures… with the affidavits is clearly impermissible and contrary to law,” and declared that “no amounts are charged from the litigants/advocates towards the photo identification at any rate whatsoever.”
The Court affirmed the validity of affidavits sworn before Notary Publics appointed under the Notaries Act, 1952, specifically citing Section 8(1)(e) which authorises Notaries to administer oaths and take affidavits.
Directions Issued
As an interim measure, the Court directed that:
- All petitions, applications, and appeals supported by affidavits sworn before Notary Publics across India must be accepted without objections.
- The Registry and Stamp Reporting Section shall not raise defects on this ground.
- No amounts shall be charged by the High Court Bar Association or Oudh Bar Association for photo identification services.
- Any violations will invite contempt proceedings against the governing bodies of the associations and the firms operating the Photo Identification Centres.
The Court further directed that the matter of simplifying affidavit verification—potentially through digital measures as adopted by the Kerala High Court—be placed before the Hon’ble Chief Justice for consideration and possible rule modification.
