Madras High Court mandates proportionate fees for advocate commissioners in SARFAESI cases

The Madras High Court has intervened to reform fee-fixing practices for advocate commissioners in SARFAESI (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest) cases, holding that magistrates cannot impose uniform charges across all matters.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan expressed concern over the standardised fee structure currently applied by lower courts, noting that such an approach fails to account for the varying complexity and effort required in different cases.

The court directed that advocate commissioners' fees must be proportionate to the actual work involved in each matter. The ruling acknowledges that SARFAESI proceedings involve diverse factual scenarios and differing levels of investigative effort, making a one-size-fits-all fee structure inappropriate and potentially unjust to the legal professionals involved.

The judgment underscores the need for judicial discretion in determining compensation based on individual case circumstances, ensuring that advocate commissioners are fairly remunerated for their services while maintaining accountability in the system.

The ruling is expected to influence judicial practice across lower courts handling SARFAESI matters, requiring magistrates to conduct case-specific assessments before fixing advocate commissioners' fees in future proceedings.