The Rajya Sabha today passed a bill to increase the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Delhi high court, a move that some of the capital’s lawyers welcomed.

Pecuniary jurisdiction refers to the jurisdiction of a court over a suit based on the amount or value of its subject matter.

The Delhi high court will now have jurisdiction over suits which are above the value of Rs. 2 crore. The value earlier was Rs. 20 lakh.

Consequently, the bill empowers the high court chief justice to transfer any pending suit to a relevant subordinate court.

Meanwhile, the coordination committee of the bar associations of district courts in Delhi welcomed the decision.

Lower court lawyers have been on strike since April 22, repeatedly extending their protest against the delay in passing the amended bill on enhancing pecuniary jurisdiction of district courts.

RK Wadhwa, chairman of the coordination committee, said the city lawyers were happy after the bill was cleared.

He said judicial work in six city courts -- Patiala House, Tis Hazari, Rohini, Karkardooma, Saket and Dwarka -- will resume after May 8.

To find out what and why exactly the lower and higher courts have been fighting about, click here.