Section 19K of Court Fees Act 1870 - Sections 6 and 28 Not to Apply to Probates or Letters of Administration
Section 19K of the Court Fees Act, 1870 creates a specific exception for probate and letters of administration proceedings. It provides that Sections 6 and 28 of the Act do not apply to probates or letters of administration.
Text of Section 19K
19K. Sections 6 and 28 not to apply to probates or letters of administration. - Nothing in section 6 or section 28 shall apply to probates or letters of administration.
Section 19K was inserted by Act 11 of 1899, section 2.
Meaning of Section 19K
The provision separates probate and letters of administration from the general operation of Sections 6 and 28. In practical terms, the general rule in Section 6 concerning payment of the prescribed court fee before chargeable documents are filed, exhibited, recorded, received or furnished, and the curing mechanism in Section 28 for an inadvertently insufficiently stamped document, do not themselves govern probate or letters of administration.
Instead, probate and letters of administration are dealt with by the special provisions in Chapter IIIA of the Court Fees Act, including Sections 19A to 19K. Section 19I, in particular, addresses payment of court fees in respect of probates and letters of administration.
What Section 6 Provides
Section 6 is the general provision concerning fees on documents filed in courts and public offices. Broadly, a document specified as chargeable under the First or Second Schedule is not to be filed, exhibited or recorded in a court, or received or furnished by a public officer, unless the proper court fee indicated by the applicable Schedule has been paid.
What Section 28 Provides
Section 28 concerns documents that should bear a court-fee stamp but are inadvertently received, filed or used without being properly stamped. It permits the competent Judge or head of office, in the circumstances stated in the section, to direct proper stamping so that the document and related proceedings may operate as if the document had been properly stamped in the first instance.
Effect of the Exception for Probate Matters
| Provision | General subject | Effect of Section 19K |
|---|---|---|
| Section 6 | Payment of prescribed fee on chargeable documents filed or received in courts and public offices. | Section 6 does not apply to probates or letters of administration. |
| Section 28 | Procedure concerning documents inadvertently received without proper stamping. | Section 28 does not apply to probates or letters of administration. |
Probate and Letters of Administration
Probate is the formal legal recognition of a will through a competent court in accordance with the applicable succession law. Letters of administration are the court's authority enabling an administrator to administer the estate in cases where such a grant is required. Court-fee treatment of these grants must be read with the special probate provisions of the Court Fees Act and the applicable State amendments.
Official Legal Source
The central text of the Court Fees Act, 1870 can be verified on the official India Code portal. The current central text lists Section 19K under Chapter IIIA and states that Sections 6 and 28 do not apply to probates or letters of administration.
Official India Code - Court Fees Act, 1870
Related Provisions
For the statutory scheme governing probate court fees, also read Section 19H, Section 19I, and Section 19J.