The Commercial Courts Act brings about a substantial change in the provisions relating to the period of filing of the written statement and the power of the Court to condone the delay in filing of the written statement as far as the commercial suits are concerned.

JUDGMENT

Navin Chawla, J.

O.A.No.17/2022

1. By this appeal, the defendants/appellants are challenging the order dated 21.03.2022 passed by the learned Joint Registrar (Judicial) in I.A. No. 16400 of 2019 dismissing the said application filed by the defendants/appellants, seeking condonation of delay in filing of the written statement.

Factual Background

2. Before adverting to the submissions made by the learned counsels for the parties, certain important dates would need reference to:

2.1. This Court, vide its order dated 19.03.2019, was pleased to issue summons to the defendants in the suit, while granting an ad-interim injunction in favour of the plaintiff restraining the defendants from using the plaintiff's trade/service marks/name and/or any mark deceptively similar thereto. This Court was also pleased to appoint Local Commissioner(s) to visit the premises of the defendants and carry out the mandate of the commission as given in the said ad-interim order.

2.2. The Local Commissioner(s) executed the commission on 27.03.2019.

2.3. The defendant nos. 1 and 2 were formally served with the summons on 22.04.2019, while the defendant no. 3 was served with the summons on 23.04.2019.

2.4. The defendants filed an application, being I.A. No. 9172 of 2019 dated 10.07.2019, praying for an order of injunction under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (in short, 'CPC') restraining the plaintiff from approaching and/or writing and/or communicating to the car manufacturers, authorized car dealers, car detailing centres, workshops and other dealers making or purporting to make wrongful representations against the defendant no. 1 which could cause damage to the reputation and goodwill of the defendant no. 1 or disparage the business of the defendant no. 1 in any manner, during the pendency of the present suit.

2.5. The defendants thereafter filed their written statement on 19.08.2019, that is, on the 118th day of service of summons.

2.6. The suit was listed before the learned Joint Registrar (Judicial) for further proceedings on 20.08.2019, when it was pointed out to the learned counsel for the defendants that the written statement, the affidavit of admission/denial of the plaintiff's documents, and the documents filed were not on record. The statement of the learned counsel for the plaintiff was also recorded to the effect that the written statement had not been filed within the statutory period. On this submission, the learned counsel for the defendants sought time for filing an appropriate application seeking condonation of delay in filing of the written statement.

2.7. The learned counsel for the defendants/appellants submits that the office objection on the written statement was finally raised by the Registry of this Court on 15.11.2019, and the said written statement was returned under objection to the defendants/appellants only on 18.11.2019. The same was immediately thereafter re-filed on 20.11.2019, and an application seeking condonation of delay in filing of the written statement, being I.A. No. 16400 of 2019, was separately filed on 21.11.2019.

2.8. The application seeking condonation of delay has been dismissed by the learned Joint Registrar (Judicial) by way of the impugned order dated 21.03.2022 on the ground that when the written statement was filed by the defendants in the suit on the 118th day of service of summons, no application for condonation of delay was filed with it. The application for condonation of delay was filed only on 21.11.2019, after an objection had been raised by the Registry of this Court. The same having not been filed within the statutory period of 120 days prescribed under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (in short, 'Commercial Courts Act'), therefore, was not maintainable in law and the defendants/appellants have forfeited their right for filing the written statement. In reaching the above conclusion, the learned Joint Registrar (Judicial) placed relianc