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2024 Supreme(Del) 53

NAVIN CHAWLA
Namita Gupta – Appellant
Versus
Suraj Holdings Limited – Respondent


Advocates appeared:
Mr. Bhuvan Gugnani, Mr. Rupender Sharma, Advocates, for the Petitioner; Mr. Ashish Mohan, Mr.Hemant Manjani, Ms.Sagrika Tanwar, Advocates, for the Respondent.

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:

  1. The Commercial Courts Act does not explicitly exclude the application of Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) to commercial disputes of a specified value, meaning that the general power of courts under Section 24 remains applicable to such cases (!) (!) .

  2. The power under Section 24 of the CPC to transfer a suit is not limited to the Court of the Principal District and Sessions Judge; it is available to the High Court or the District Court for transferring cases from one subordinate court to another, including Commercial Courts, which are subordinate to the High Court (!) (!) .

  3. The Commercial Courts, including those at the district level, are considered courts subordinate to the High Court, and the power to transfer cases under Section 24 of the CPC can be exercised by these higher courts or the District Judge, but not by a Commercial Court below the level of a District Judge (!) (!) .

  4. When a suit that raises a commercial dispute of a specified value is filed as an ordinary civil suit in a non-commercial court, the appropriate remedy is to return the plaint for presentation before the competent Commercial Court, typically under Order VII Rule 10 of the CPC (!) (!) .

  5. The provisions of the Commercial Courts Act, including the special procedural requirements and the mandate for returning non-compliant suits, do not exclude or override the general powers conferred by Section 24 of the CPC. Therefore, even after a suit is returned to be filed in the proper Commercial Court, the Court or the parties can invoke Section 24 for transfer, provided the suit is related to a commercial dispute of a specified value (!) (!) (!) .

  6. The power of the District Judge or the Principal District and Sessions Judge to transfer a suit is limited to cases where the suit is pending before courts subordinate to them, and they do not have the authority to transfer suits to Commercial Courts below the level of a District Judge, as these are courts established under the Act and are not subordinate courts in the traditional sense (!) .

  7. The appropriate course of action when a suit is improperly filed or transferred is to either return the plaint or transfer the case to the proper jurisdiction, ensuring that procedural compliance with the Act is maintained, and the suit proceeds in the correct forum (!) (!) .

  8. The Court has the authority under Section 24 of the CPC to transfer a suit from an improper or non-competent court to the correct jurisdiction, including transferring from a non-Commercial Court to a Commercial Court, even if the suit was initially filed as a non-commercial suit (!) .

  9. Orders transferring suits or directing their return must be made within the limits of the courts’ powers, and courts below the level of a District Judge do not have the authority to transfer cases to Commercial Courts; such transfers are typically exercised by higher courts or the High Court (!) (!) .

  10. The procedural requirement for suits related to commercial disputes includes compliance with specific pleadings, statements of truth, affidavits, and pre-institution mediation under the Act. Non-compliance may lead to the suit being returned or rejected, but this does not affect the court’s power to transfer the suit once proper amendments are made (!) (!) .

In summary, the legal principles affirm that the general transfer powers under Section 24 of the CPC remain applicable to commercial disputes, and courts at higher levels have the authority to transfer suits to the appropriate commercial jurisdiction, regardless of whether the suit was initially filed as a non-commercial suit. The courts below the level of a District Judge do not possess the authority to transfer cases to Commercial Courts, which are established as courts subordinate to the High Court under the Act.


JUDGMENT

Navin Chawla, J. - This petition has been filed by the petitioner, who is the defendant in the Suit, being CS DJ No. 708/2019 titled M/s Suraj Holdings Ltd. v. Namita Gupta (hereinafter referred to as the 'Suit'), challenging the order dated 06.03.2023 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Impugned Order') passed by the learned Additional District Judge-06, South-East District, Saket Courts, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as 'Additional District Judge'), and the order dated 14.03.2023 (hereinafter referred to as 'Impugned Order') passed by the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, South-East District, Saket Courts, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as 'Principal District and Sessions Judge').

2. By the Impugned Order dated 06.03.2023, the learned Additional District Judge, while observing that the dispute between the parties is commercial in nature, directed the file of the Suit to be placed before the Court of the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, for passing appropriate orders.

3. By the Impugned Order dated 14.03.2023, the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge directed that the Suit be withdrawn from the Court of the learned Additional Distric

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