Notaries resort to fleecing at Corporation, allege applicants

These notaries, who are formally known as the notary public, work independently inside the major civic centre and are having a field day, charging the public at will, as they are not regulated. Sources said a big racket operates where touts target prospective customers and route them to the notaries they represent. 

Notary affidavits are a must for several applications that have to be submitted to the Chennai Corporation. If one wants to add or change names in birth and death certificates, an affidavit on a Rs.20 non-judicial stamp paper is a must. 

“A notary first demanded Rs.300 for an affidavit on a Rs.20 stamp paper. I was not having that much money with me and when I bargained, he reduced it to Rs.200. I had no other alternative but to give that amount,” Muniammal, who had come to the Chennai Corporation for changing the name in a birth certificate, told DTNext. She also said the notary paid Rs. 80 to the stamp vendor who does the typing and kept the remaining amount with him. 

“He did that just in front of me. I was paying such a fee for just a seal and sign,” the woman said. Hundreds of people throng the seat of the Chennai Corporation every day for such needs and these notaries make a killing. The notaries in the Madras High Court complex charge much less than what is being charged by the notaries inside the Ripon Building. 

“In High Court, the business is huge and they can charge less. But here we do not get much applicants so we have to charge that much,” one of the notaries, who demanded Rs.300 from the woman, reasoned. When contacted, the Chennai Corporation Public Relations Officer, Umapathy, told DTNext that so far, these notaries are not regulated. 

“If they are charging such huge amounts, that cannot be justified. We are yet to get any complaint from the affected parties. If someone makes a complaint to us we can take it up,” he added.