VARANASI: Ganga Devi was always a fighter. So when the Mirzapur district magistrate served a property attachment notice on her after a dispute in 1975, she protested vehemently. Then 37, she challenged the action before the civil judge and won the case two years later in 1977.Fate though had another, harder battle in store for her. During the course of the trial, the judge had asked Ganga to pay a court fee of Rs 312, which she did. But just as she was ready to get the final copy of the order that was in her favour, someone noticed that Ganga hadn't attached a receipt of the Rs 312 that she had already shelled out. The "vital" document was missing.It being her wont, Ganga refused to pay up again. The case hung in court for 41 years as Ganga wouldn't budge. The suit, filed in 1975, was finally disposed by Mirzapur civil judge (senior division) Lovely Jaiswal on August 31, 2018. Again in her favour. Ganga, sadly, wasn't there to witness the momentous occasion. She died in 2005."Ganga Devi just didn't want to pay the court fee of Rs 312 for the second time," a lawyer involved in the proceedings told TOI.Requesting anonymity, he added. "One must remember that Rs 312 four decades ago wasn't such a small amount. She protested but her plea was not accepted and a case of 'non-payment of court fee' continued against her for the next 41 years. The file went through 11 judges, but Ganga Devi remained unheard."By the time the matter came up before Jaiswal, who detected the anomaly and after fresh probes found that the fee had indeed been deposited on April 9, 1977, Ganga's family had given up on justice.In her judgment, Jaiswal observed that no court fee was pending. "It seemed that the case continued due to an error in the file. Hence, the case is fit for disposal," the civil judge pronounced. Nobody from Ganga's family was present in court to celebrate. One of her family members received a copy of the order through speed post last week.