Bombay HC Website’s Outdated Calculator May Be Costing the Exchequer Crores
SEVEN YEARS AFTER the Maharashtra Court-fees (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Maharashtra Act X of 2018) revised the ad-valorem court fee structure and increased the maximum payable amount from ₹3,00,000 to ₹10,00,000, the Bombay High Court’s official website still does not reflect this statutory change.
Bombay High Court website home page.
The Court Fee Calculator hosted on the High Court portal continues to compute fees based on the pre-2018 schedule. This persistent mismatch between law and publicly accessible information raises concerns regarding litigant guidance, administrative diligence, and avoidable loss to the State exchequer.
Fee Calculator Still Shows Old ₹3 Lakh Cap for ₹1 Crore and Above Suits
Calculator shows ₹3 lakh fee for a ₹1 crore valuation.
The outdated calculation becomes obvious when the calculator is tested with typical commercial suit valuations.
A screenshot captured in November 2025 shows that when a valuation of ₹1,00,00,000 (₹1 crore) is entered, the system returns a fee of only ₹3,00,000.
Under the amended fee schedule notified in 2018, the correct fee for a ₹1 crore suit is ₹4,85,430 — a difference of nearly ₹1.85 lakh.
A second screenshot illustrates the same problem on a larger scale. A valuation of ₹10,00,00,000 (₹10 crore) also yields an output of ₹3,00,000, even though the amended law prescribes a statutory maximum fee of ₹10,00,000 for such high-value suits.
The calculator therefore returns the same outdated figure for both ₹1 crore and ₹10 crore valuations, making it clear that it is still locked to the pre-amendment ceiling and does not apply the revised incremental slab structure that has been in effect since January 2018.
Updated Law vs Outdated Practice
Maharashtra Court-fees (Amendment) Act, 2017 — Gazette copy.
The Maharashtra Court-fees (Amendment) Act, 2017 substituted Article 1 of Schedule I of the principal Act in full.
The amended structure provides a base fee of ₹1,10,430 for suits valued at ₹25,00,000 and mandates an increase of ₹5,000 for every additional ₹1,00,000 or part thereof until the fee reaches the statutory maximum of ₹10,00,000.
This amended structure applies to plaints, memoranda of appeal and cross-objections across the State.
Revised Maharashtra court fee structure after 2018 amendment.
However, the Court Fee Calculator on the Bombay High Court’s website continues to treat ₹3,00,000 as the maximum fee for money suits and makes no attempt to compute fees as per the amended slab system.
For litigants who rely on the calculator in good faith, this results in incorrect statutory guidance from an official judicial resource.
Outdated Statute Still Linked on the Website
The problem is compounded by the fact that the calculator’s “Acts” section links only to the 2016 edition of the Maharashtra Court Fees Act, labelled “As modified up to 4th March 2016.”
Website still displays the 2016 Act.
This version includes only the pre-amendment fee schedule and does not incorporate Maharashtra Act X of 2018.
The absence of the amended statute from the website reinforces the impression that the Court’s digital resources are not aligned with legislative changes, despite widespread public reliance on these materials.
New Website Offers No Updated Fee Information
The Bombay High Court’s old website bombayhighcourt.nic.in prominently displays a BHC New Website button on its home page, directing users to the redesigned portal at bombayhighcourt.gov.in. However, the new site provides no court fee calculator, nor does it publish the amended 2018 fee schedule.
Bombay High Court’s redesigned website.
Instead, it features a BHC Old Website button that sends users back to the legacy NIC portal — the only place where a calculator exists, and one that still reflects the pre-amendment ₹3 lakh cap.
Ironically, the older site often loads faster and more reliably than the new bombayhighcourt.gov.in portal, which at times is slow or fails to open altogether. As a result, litigants have no practical option but to rely on the outdated calculator hosted on the older website, despite its inaccurate computations.
Fiscal Impact and the Duty to Recover Deficit Fees
The financial impact of using outdated court fee calculations can be significant. A ₹1 crore suit legally attracts a fee of ₹4,85,430, whereas the calculator instructs litigants to pay ₹3,00,000.
Calculator still capped at ₹3 lakh for high-value suits.
For a ₹10 crore suit, the correct payable fee is ₹10,00,000, but the calculator continues to show only ₹3,00,000. These discrepancies — ₹1.85 lakh in the first example and ₹7 lakh in the second — represent a direct potential loss in State revenue each time such suits are filed.
With commercial litigation generating numerous high-value filings each year, the cumulative impact may be substantial.
The Maharashtra Court Fees Act imposes a clear responsibility upon the Registry to assess and recover any deficit court fees, even after the suit has proceeded or concluded. Deficits are recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
It remains unclear whether any systematic audit has been conducted by the Bombay High Court Registry to ensure that the correct fees have been collected since the 2018 amendment came into force.
Website Disclaimer and Evidence of Recent Maintenance
Although the Bombay High Court website displays a standard disclaimer stating that information may contain inaccuracies, the same page also shows a “Last Updated On 24/11/2025” timestamp — evidence that the website is under regular maintenance.
Bombay High Court
Despite this, the outdated statutory material and incorrect fee computation remain unchanged. The contradiction between recent updates and outdated content raises questions about oversight and the priority accorded to keeping public-facing information current.
Stakeholder Concerns and the Need for Administrative Clarity
Lawyers and litigants have expressed concern about the implications of the discrepancy. Many note that citizens cannot be faulted for relying on the judiciary’s own website to obtain statutory information.
If the calculator displays outdated figures, it may expose litigants to retrospective deficit demands or procedural complications. For the State, prolonged under-collection could translate into recurring revenue losses.
Punjab Today Sought Clarification, Yet No Response
To ensure accuracy and fairness in reporting, Punjab Today formally wrote to the Bombay High Court Registry seeking clarification on whether the amended 2018 fee schedule is being applied at filing counters, whether the public calculator reflects the operative law, why the 2016 version of the Act remains the only linked statute on the website, and whether any circular or directive has modified or stayed the amended fee structure.
As of the time of publication, the Registry had not responded to these queries. This report will be updated if and when an official clarification is issued.
Why This Discrepancy Matters
The Bombay High Court website is relied upon daily by litigants, lawyers, students and the general public to understand legal obligations and ensure compliance.
When the most widely accessed judicial platform in the State presents outdated statutory information, it creates confusion, undermines public trust, and may lead to financial loss for both litigants and the government. Court fees are an essential component of the justice system’s revenue framework. Public-facing tools must therefore reflect the law accurately and promptly.
Legal Disclaimer
This report is based exclusively on publicly accessible information from the Bombay High Court website, Government of Maharashtra publications, the Gazette-notified amendment, and screenshots captured in November 2025. All monetary examples are illustrative. No allegation is made against any individual or any pending matter. 
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kanwar manjit singh
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