Commercial Courts Act
No Separate Disclosure Standard For IP Disputes Under Commercial Courts Act: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has partly rejected a trademark owner's attempt to introduce additional documents nearly six years after filing suit, holding that intellectual property disputes are not entitled to any special procedural indulgence under the Commercial Courts Act. In a judgment pronounced on February 20, 2026, Justice Arif S. Doctor said the disclosure requirements under amended Order XI of the Civil Procedure Code are “mandatory and must be strictly enforced” in commercial suits.Order XI...
Bombay High Court Sets Aside Commercial Suit Review Heard By Another Judge Despite Availability Of Order-Passing Judge
Holding that an alternate judge had effectively “sat in appeal” over a coordinate bench, the Bombay High Court has ruled that a review application cannot be entertained by another judge when the original judge remains available under Order XLVII Rule 5 of the Code of Civil Procedure. A Division Bench of Justices R.I. Chagla and Advait M. Sethna set aside an ex parte review order passed on April 25, 2025 by an alternate judge of the City Civil Court at Dindoshi, observing that the course adopted...
Calcutta High Court Upholds Commercial Court Order Permitting Fresh Counterclaim After Transfer Of Suit
The Calcutta High Court has recently declined to interfere with a Commercial Court order allowing a defendant to file an additional written statement along with a counterclaim after the suit was transferred to the Commercial Court. The court held that such pleadings can be permitted with the court's leave under the Code of Civil Procedure. Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) dismissed a civil revision filed by Batliboi Environmental Engineering Limited, observing that “the impugned order in the present...
Supreme Court Calls Pre-Litigation Mediation Plea 'Dilatory Tactic', Restores ₹12.5 Lakh Recovery Suit
Calling the respondents' reliance on mandatory pre-litigation mediation a “dilatory tactic,” the Supreme Court restored a Rs. 12.5 lakh commercial recovery suit filed by Divya A. Nichani against Dipti D. Palchi and others over an unpaid loan. Invoking its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the court held that the requirement of pre-litigation mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act “shall be deemed to have failed” in the facts of the case. A bench of Chief Justice...
Right To Seek Arbitration Ends Once Written Statement Stage Is Closed: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has reiterated that a defendant cannot seek reference to arbitration under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 after its right to file a written statement in a commercial suit has been closed, dismissing an appeal filed by real estate developer Bhagyalakshmi Homes LLP. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha upheld the Commercial Court's order rejecting the developer's plea to refer the dispute to arbitration. “It is...
Pre-Litigation Mediation Mandate Cannot Be Used To 'Cold-Storage' Urgent Commercial Suits: Telangana High Court
The Telangana High Court has recently observed that mandatory pre-litigation mediation cannot be used to stall urgent commercial suits. Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, it said, cannot “cold-storage urgent claims.” Nor can it be used for “arm-twisting” a plaintiff seeking interim protection. A Division Bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar dismissed a revision plea, upholding an order of the Commercial Court which exempted Ras Al Khaimah Investment...
Part-Payments Extend Limitation Period, Delhi High Court Revives Federal Bank's Recovery Suit
The Delhi High Court has revived Federal Bank's recovery suit against a borrower, holding that part-payments made by a borrower extend the limitation period and cannot be ignored while computing delay. Setting aside a Commercial Court order that had dismissed the suit as time-barred, a Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan said courts must recompute the limitation from the date of the last payment if payments are made within time. “Once part-payments within limitation are admitted...
Disputes From Residential Real-Estate Development Can Be Commercial If Profit Oriented: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has recently observed that a real estate development agreement can qualify as a commercial dispute even if the project is residential in nature and even if both parties are not engaged in the business.Justice Shampa Sarkar said the agreement, when read as a whole, showed that the property was meant to be commercially exploited. “The cumulative effect of the agreement was that the parties jointly agreed to put the property to commercial use, thereby earning from the...
Summary Judgment Is 'Exceptional In Nature', Must Be Used With Prudence In Commercial Cases: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has set aside a summary decree passed by a Commercial Court, holding that disputes over rent and consultancy fees could not have been decided without a full trial. A division bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan said the power of summary judgment under Order XIII-A of the Civil Procedure Code is “exceptional in nature” and must be exercised with prudence. The court said, “The provision does not contemplate dispensation of trial merely because documents...
No Appeal If Commercial Court Refuses To Return Plaint For Lack of Jurisdiction: Karnataka High Court
On 29 January, the Karnataka High Court dismissed an appeal filed by Trinetramilan Product Protection Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a packaging company, ruling that parties cannot immediately challenge a Commercial Court's decision to retain jurisdiction over a dispute. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha was hearing an appeal filed by Trinetramilan against a suit by Milan Packaging. It held that an appeal under Section 13(1A) of the Commercial Courts Act,...
Suit For Specific Performance Of Agreement To Sell Shops Used For Business Is Commercial Dispute: Rajasthan High Court
The Rajasthan High Court has recently held that a suit seeking specific performance of an agreement to sell shops that were already being used for business cannot be tried by a regular civil court and must be placed before a Commercial Court. Justice Sanjeet Purohit, while dismissing an appeal against a trial court order, made it clear that once a dispute falls within the Commercial Courts Act, the civil court lacks jurisdiction to try the suit. The Court held, “When facts establish that the...
Nearly 9 In 10 Pre-Institution Mediation Cases In 2024–25 Recorded As Non-Starter, Government Data Shows
Nearly nine out of ten applications filed for mandatory pre-institution mediation under the Commercial Courts Act were recorded as “non-starter” in 2024–25, according to data shared by the Ministry of Law and Justice in Parliament. The data was placed before the Rajya Sabha in a written reply by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal. It shows that 59,568 applications were received for pre-institution mediation during the year. Of these, 52,730...