Commercial Courts Act, 2015 does not exclude application of Sec. 24 of CPC to Commercial Disputes having a specified value | A Commercial Court below the level of a District Judge is not a Court subordinate to District Judge | Power u/s 24 of CPC to transfer Suit is not available to District and Session Judge – Namita Gupta Vs. Suraj Holdings Ltd. – Delhi High Court
In this important judgment on Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and CPC, Hon’ble High Court has held that:
(i) Commercial Courts are distinct from the Ordinary Civil Courts.
(ii) Commercial Courts would be a Court Subordinate to the High Courts.
(iii) If a Suit raises a Commercial Dispute of a Specified Value, the Ordinary Civil Court shall have no jurisdiction to entertain the same, and it must, therefore, return the plaint in exercise of its power under Order VII Rule 10 of the CPC. on return of the plaint, the plaintiff may, after making necessary corrections in the pleadings, present the plaint before the Court of competent jurisdiction.
(iv) Section 24 of the CPC is not a provision which has been amended by the said Schedule. It, therefore, continues to apply in full force to a Suit in respect of a Commercial Dispute of a Specified Value.
(v) A Commercial Court, constituted under Section 3 of the Act, would be a Court subordinate to the High Court.
(vi) Commercial Court below the level of a District Judge do not still become subordinate to the District Court for purposes of Section 24 of the CPC.
(v) The power under Section 24 of the CPC to transfer the Suit, is not available to learned the District and Session Judge.
(vi) The Additional District Judge had no power to place the file of the Suit before the Principal District and Sessions Judge for it to be transferred to the Court of competent jurisdiction.