
Affidavit Filing Must Be Transparent: Allahabad HC Restores Registry's Powers, Caps Fee At Rs 125
The court noted that while the HC bar associations in Allahabad and Lucknow had accepted the Rs 125 fee structure, discrepancies were observed in the receipts issued at both
The Allahabad High Court has upheld the registry's authority to mark defects in affidavits sworn before notaries and directed the bar associations at both Allahabad and Lucknow to ensure strict compliance with the court's photo affidavit procedure, including transparent fee collection.
A division bench of Justices Attau Rahman Masoodi and Shree Prakash Singh modified a prior direction that barred the Stamp Reporting Section from flagging defects in notarised affidavits. Citing Chapter II, Rule 1(ii) of the Allahabad High Court Rules, the court held that such affidavits are not exempt from scrutiny and that the Registry retains its power to point out defects and allow rectification.
'Such a direction does not stand in consonance with the relevant rule," the bench observed.
The judgment also addressed discrepancies in the implementation of the office memorandum dated 22.11.2024, which mandates that every affidavit be accompanied by a passport-size photograph and a unique identification number issued by the respective bar association for a fixed charge of Rs 125.
While the memorandum clearly prohibits charging more than Rs 125 without prior approval, the court found that at Allahabad, a single receipt was being issued for both the prescribed affidavit fee and an additional Rs 475 welfare contribution, making the payment appear compulsory. At Lucknow, receipts failed to specify the Rs 125 amount at all.
Calling this a violation of the memorandum's intent, the court directed both bar associations to remodel their receipts within a period of 15 days, ensuring that procedural charges are clearly distinguished from voluntary welfare contributions.
'No litigant for institution of the proceedings before this court is compelled to deposit any amount higher than what is prescribed in the aforesaid office memorandum dated 22.11.2024," the HC observed.
The high court further reaffirmed that bar associations are free to run welfare schemes, but such initiatives must remain voluntary and independent of mandatory filing procedures.
The controversy originated after the writ court, in a previous judgment, issued directions concerning the affidavit filing process without hearing the high court bar association, which later challenged the observations.
The special appeal sought to address procedural lapses and protect the autonomy of bar associations in administering identity protocols while ensuring that litigants are not burdened with non-transparent or compulsory charges.
view comments
First Published:
July 10, 2025, 03:12 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Economic Times
17 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Mukul Agrawal adds 7 new stocks to portfolio; picks include recently listed stock. Check details
Ace investor Mukul Agrawal has added a few new stocks to his portfolio during the June 2025 quarter, according to the latest shareholding data available on Trendlyne. His recent buys span across sectors such as real estate, banking, chemicals, energy, and healthcare, signalling a diversified approach. ADVERTISEMENT One of the key additions is Valor Estate, where Agrawal picked up 65 lakh shares, amounting to a holding value of Rs 126.3 crore or a 1.2% stake in the company. Another significant purchase was Jammu & Kashmir Bank, with a stake of 1.3% acquired through 1.4 crore shares worth Rs 153.6 crore. Agrawal also entered Sarda Energy & Minerals, buying 40 lakh shares valued at Rs 178.7 crore, representing a 1.1% stake in the company. In the niche industrial segment, he took a 2.5% stake in Wendt, acquiring 50,000 shares worth Rs 53.4 crore. In the chemicals space, Agrawal bought 3 lakh shares of Tatva Chintan Pharma, amounting to a 1.3% stake with a holding value of Rs 29.8 crore. In the healthcare sector, he added Yatharth Hospital to his portfolio by purchasing 1.1 crore shares for Rs 69.6 crore, giving him a 1.1% stake. Rounding out the list is the recently listed Monolithisch India, where he acquired 5 lakh shares worth Rs 20 crore, reflecting a 2.3% stake in the company. Also read: Vijay Kedia exits Tata stock after making multibagger returns in 5 years ADVERTISEMENT All of these holdings are marked as "new" in the June 2025 shareholding data, indicating fresh entries in the latest quarter. This implies that these are potentially new investments made by Agrawal, or he has increased his holdings in these stocks over 1%, which requires a disclosure.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times) (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)


Indian Express
20 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Job promises rain down in poll-bound Bihar. But what does the pursuit of one look like?
IT'S THE weekend, and Patna's Gandhi Maidan area is buzzing with thousands of youths from across Bihar. Their destination is the nearby Gyan Bhawan, more specifically a 'Maha Rojgar Mela (Grand Job Fair)' organised by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC). As the gates of the building swing open, the applicants rush in, collecting forms and making small huddles in the auditorium itself to fill them out. Once they have completed the forms, they join long queues snaking into the main hall. Inside, half the space is reserved for candidates awaiting interviews, while the other half has 199 stalls set up by 190 private companies, including household names such as Flipkart, Paytm, Hitachi, Tech Mahindra, Tata Alliance, Voltas, Zepto, and Aditya Birla. The youths make a beeline for these stalls, holding their registration forms, academic certificates, and resumes in hand. Among the multitude is 24-year-old Jyotish Kumar, who hopes the job fair is the answer to his 'financial problems'. Belonging to a village in Madhepura district, Kumar arrived in Patna first in 2019, seeking better education options and coaching for NEET. However, months later, his father was killed, while his mother, too, lost her job when the Centre's 'Sakshar Bharat Mission' for adult literacy wrapped up. Kumar went back, giving up on his dreams of becoming a doctor, and pursued a BSc in Zoology from Madhepura University. Now saddled with a Rs 3 lakh loan, he is back in Patna to support his mother. Though his first preference is a job in Bihar, he says he will move if needed. The story plays out across the hall. Md Mahbubur Rahman, 26, says he is an economics graduate from Saharsa, with an additional Bachelor of Library and Information Science degree, and certificates showing he has computer knowledge. It is an impressive resume, particularly as none of his siblings went past intermediate. However, that has not got Rahman the job he needs. So he is now pursuing another qualification: a BEd. 'I have been applying for government jobs since passing matric (Class 10) in 2015, and am now trying my luck in the private sector,' he says. Recently, he tried his luck for a government peon's post, despite his educational qualifications, Rahman says. With his large family including his parents, three brothers and two sisters, Rahman also tutors kids on the side to earn a little money. Trying to push through a crowd near a stall, Rahman says: 'Since there are no jobs in our family, our lives are stuck. Marriage prospects are also an issue.' The unemployment question is central to the discourse in Bihar as Assembly elections near. Political parties are trying to outdo each other with promises of job creation. With the RJD hoping its promises in this regard will work for it like they did in the 2000 elections, Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar has also jumped in, vowing to create 1 crore jobs in the next five years. The job fair held by its Youth Congress is part of the Congress's push in this regard, including a 'Palayan Roko, Naukri Do (stop migration, give jobs) Yatra' it held in March. The numbers show why the promise of jobs resonates so much with voters. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for July-September 2024, which contains data only for urban areas, puts Bihar's unemployment rate for those aged above 15 at 7.3%, which is above the national average of 6.4%, and for those aged 15-29 years at 23.2%, well above the national average of 15.9% and the sixth worst among the states. When it comes to the labour force participation rate (a measure of the share of the working-age population actively working or seeking work), Bihar has the worst figures in the country in the above 15 years and the 15-29 years categories. As per the 2011 Census data, the corollary is that Bihar ranks second among states in out-migration, beaten only by Uttar Pradesh. Rahman expects to join the migrant ranks. 'My father keeps telling us to try for jobs outside Bihar… After my I'll see.' Rahul Bansal, who has travelled three hours from Khagaria for the fair, says that all 'good jobs' are outside the state, which is also a problem for people like him. 'Even here at the mela, most of the location options are in other states. But in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru, the expenses alone would eat up the entire salary. So, I prefer something here,' says the 29-year-old. While Rahman argues that Nitish Kumar's long tenure at the helm of the state has not benefited the youth, citing the leak of several exam question papers, 26-year-old Sagar Shan disagrees, talking about the recruitment of 'over 4 lakh teachers and 1 lakh constables alone'. From Nitish's native district of Nalanda, Shah has himself been trying for a government job since 2019. IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib told The Indian Express that the Patna job fair saw 48,000 registrations, with more than 20,000 candidates interviewed, and 7,000 receiving job letters on the spot. Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru said the rush exposed the NDA government's 'false assurances' to the youth. 'We are providing them jobs so that they can achieve their dreams. Unemployment in Bihar is not just a number, but is about a long wait.' Congress spokesperson Gyan Ranjan Gupta added that if the IYC could facilitate so many jobs, 'imagine how many lakhs of jobs we will provide in Bihar itself when we come to power'. Asked about the Congress claims, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, 'The amount of government employment provided in Bihar under Nitish ji's leadership is the reason why Bihar is ahead in the nation today in areas such as the student-to-teacher ratio and women's participation in the police force. The Congress, which now wants to bring 'Company Raj' here, should look at their own rule. When they were in power in Rajasthan, question papers were leaked 15 times.' Not surprisingly, not everyone went away happy from the Patna Maha Rojgar Mela. 'I rejected an offer of a Rs 20,000 sales job in Pune,' Patna resident Md Shabanul Haqe, 28, who did his MBA from Kolkata, says. 'After an expensive MBA, how can I manage in another city on this salary? Even non-graduates earn Rs 10,000-12,000 doing odd jobs.'


Economic Times
20 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Vijay Kedia exits Tata stock after making multibagger returns in 5 years
Live Events Tejas Networks Q1 results Tejas Networks share price performance (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel After delivering a 975% return over the last five years, veteran investor Vijay Kedia appears to have exited his position in Tata Group-backed Tejas Networks , as his name no longer features in the latest public shareholding data uploaded on the BSE for the quarter ended June 30, move comes nearly five years after he first gained exposure to the telecom equipment per the shareholding pattern for the June 2025 quarter, Kedia Securities — under which Kedia held his stake — was not listed among public shareholders. In the preceding quarter ending March 2025, he held 18 lakh shares or a 1.02% stake in the name dropping off the list could indicate a complete exit or a reduction in holdings to below 1%, which doesn't require public of Tejas Networks fell 3.3% today, hitting a new 52-week low of Rs 605 on the sharp fall in the stock also follows the company's first-quarter earnings, where it reported a net loss of Rs 194 crore for Q1FY26 — a steep reversal from a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 77 crore in the same quarter last for Q1FY26 stood at Rs 202 crore, an 87% year-on-year decline from Rs 1,563 crore in Q1FY25. For the full year FY25, revenue was Rs 8,923 read: Sebi shares Jane Street probe details with SEC Over the past one year, the stock has declined by 51.87%, while on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, it is down 48.10%. The stock has also registered a 44.14% loss over the last six months. In the most recent three-month and one-month periods, it has fallen by 30.93% and 12%, respectively.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)