The Karnataka High Court has come down strongly on advocates and litigants for failing to pay process fees even years after obtaining interim orders, warning that such practices cannot be used to keep cases pending indefinitely.
Justice V. Srishananda expressed serious concern over matters in which parties secured interim relief but took no further steps to move their cases forward.
“A 2026 matter will reflect only in 2036,” the Judge remarked while highlighting the consequences of prolonged inaction.
Court Warns Interim Orders May Be Vacated
The Court was hearing a matter where the process fee had remained unpaid despite an order passed on March 9, 2026.
When the advocate attributed the delay to an oversight, the Court warned that the case could be dismissed and indicated that interim orders may be vacated where the required process fee has not been paid.
Justice Srishananda said the Court had encountered several cases dating back to 2021 where process fees were still outstanding.
He questioned the purpose of obtaining interim relief if parties subsequently allowed the proceedings to remain stagnant.
“Get an Interim Order and Keep Quiet”
The Judge criticised what he described as a practice where a party obtains an interim order, fails to take the necessary procedural steps and continues relying on an internet copy of the order before another court.
According to the Court, such conduct can effectively bring proceedings to a standstill for several years.
The Judge observed that the Court would not permit interim orders to remain alive indefinitely without parties taking steps to prosecute their cases.
Court Questions Registry Over Old Cases
The Bench also raised concerns regarding the listing of old matters before the High Court.
Justice Srishananda said that after directing the Registry to list older cases according to their serial numbers, the number of matters appearing on the list increased sharply.
He questioned how cases that had remained pending for years, including some that had allegedly become infructuous as far back as 2022, continued to remain on the docket.
The Judge also referred to matters where a coordinate Bench had directed listing within a week, but which allegedly remained pending for years.
“One week in the meaning of the High Court is six years, is it?” he remarked.
Advocates Began Paying Process Fees
The Court noted that after the old matters were ordered to be listed, several advocates began paying the outstanding process fees.
Justice Srishananda said that dozens of advocates had already taken steps after the Court’s intervention.
He also stressed that responsibility for such procedural lapses could not simply be passed from one official or department to another.
The Court’s observations underline that obtaining interim relief is not the end of proceedings and that litigants must continue taking the procedural steps necessary to prosecute their cases.
Court: Karnataka High Court
Judge: Justice V. Srishananda
Issue: Unpaid process fees and prolonged pending matters
Karnataka High Court, process fee, interim order, Justice V Srishananda, pending cases, Karnataka HC, advocates, court proceedings, legal procedure, High Court news
