IMPORTANT POINTS
What is barred under Section 8 of the Commercial Courts Act is Civil Revision Application or petition against an interlocutory order passed by a Commercial Court. An appeal against an order passed by a Commercial Court is not barred under Section 8 of the said Act. It is specifically provided under Section 8 of the Commercial Courts Act that the said provision is subject to the remedy of appeal provided under Section 13 of the Act.

JUDGMENT :

Is an order passed under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Arbitration Act') by a Commercial Court appealable under Section 13(1) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Commercial Courts Act')? This question essentially falls for consideration in the instant case.

2. The first petitioner is a company. The second petitioner is the Chief Executive Officer and the third petitioner is one of the directors of the first petitioner company. The first respondent is a partnership firm. The second respondent is the Managing Partner of the first respondent firm.

3. The first and the second respondents filed an application under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act in the District Court, Ernakulam against the petitioners. This application (Ext.P8) was transferred to the Commercial Court, Ernakulam (the Principal Sub Court, Ernakulam) and numbered as CMA (Arb) No.8/2020.

4. The reliefs prayed for in Ext.P8 application are the following:

“a. Issue a Decree of Interim Injunction restraining the Respondent No.1 and the Respondents No.2 to 10 or their men, officers and agents, from appointing any persons and/or business establishments as the Exclusive Global Marketer and Distributor or Marketer or Distributor for the distribution, marketing or sales of the products as defined in the Agreement dated 26.06.2017;

b. Issue a Decree of Interim Injunction restraining the Respondents No.1 to 10 or their men, officers and agents, from transferring to any person or entity, the Product know-how or confidential information of the 'Products' as defined in the Agreement dated 26.06.2017;

c. Pass such other interim measure of protection as may appear to the Court to be just and convenient.”

5. As per Ext.P9 judgment dated 14.09.2020, the Commercial Court, Ernakulam allowed Ext.P8 application. The operative portion of Ext.P9 judgment reads as follows:

“In the result, the Civil Miscellaneous Application is allowed. The respondents are hereby restrained from appointing any persons and/or business establishments as the exclusive global marketer or distributor for the distribution, marketing or sale of the products of the 1st respondent company and from transferring to any 3rd parties the product know-how or confidential information of the products till Arbitration proceedings are commenced in the case. The parties shall bear their respective costs.”

6. This original petition is filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India challenging the legality and propriety of Ext.P9 judgment.

7. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and also the first and the second respondents.

8. Learned counsel for the respondents raised a preliminary objection regarding the maintainability of this original petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. He invited the attention of this Court to Section 13(1) of the Commercial Courts Act which provides for appeal against the orders passed by a Commercial Court below the level of a District Judge. Learned counsel contended that, in view of the alternative and efficacious remedy available to the petitioners as provided under Section 13(1) of the Commercial Courts Act, the original petition filed by them under Article 227 of the Constitution of India is not maintainable.

9. Learned counsel for the petitioners contended that an appeal under Section 13(1) of Commercial Courts Act is maintainable only against a decree or final judgment passed by a Commercial Court. He would also contend that, an alternative and efficacious statutory remedy available to a person against an order passed by a subordinate court, is not an absolute bar to entertain an application under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

10. The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015 came into force on 23.10.2015, in terms of the deeming provision under Section 1(3) thereof. The provisions of this statute were ame