The trial Court must decide the application under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC promptly, as compliance with Section 12-A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 is crucial.

Order :

1. This civil writ petition has been filed by the petitioner-defendant No.1 (for short ‘the defendant’) against the order dated 16.12.2019 passed by the Judge, Commercial Court No.4, Jaipur (for short ‘the trial Court’) in case No. 99/2018 whereby the trial Court had not decided the application filed by the defendant under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC and directed the respondent No.1-plaintiff (for short ‘the plaintiff’) to first submit the compliance report with regard to Section 12-A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (for short ‘the Act of 2015’).

2. Learned counsel for the defendant submits that the plaintiff filed a suit against the defendants for recovery of Rs. 1,24,91,798/- in which the defendant filed an application under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC read with Section 12-A of the Act of 2015 but the trial Court vide order dated 16.12.2019 had not decided the said application filed by the defendant.

3. Learned counsel further submits that instead of deciding the application filed by the defendant under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC , trial Court admitted the fact that compliance of Section 12-A of the Act of 2015 is mandatory and gave direction to the plaintiff for submitting compliance report with regard to Section 12-A of the Act of 2015.

4. Learned counsel further submits that on account of in compliance of mandatory provision of Section 12-A of the Act of 2015, the trial Court should have dismissed the plaint filed by the plaintiff. So, the order dated 16.12.2019 passed by the trial Court be set aside.

5. Learned counsel for the plaintiff has opposed the arguments advanced by counsel for the defendant and submitted that trial Court had not decided the application filed by the defendant under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC and the same is still pending. So, the present petition filed by the defendant is premature. Learned counsel also submits that Section 12-A of the Act of 2015 was declared mandatory from 20.08.2022, whereas the suit was filed in the year 2018. So, the present writ petition filed by the defendant be dismissed.

6. I have considered the arguments advanced by counsel for the parties and perused the impugned order.

7. It is an admitted position that the application filed by the defendant under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC is still pending. Compliance of Section 12-A of the Act of 2015 is mandatory or not is yet to be decided by the trial Court while adjudicating the application filed by the defendant under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC . In my considered opinion, petition filed by the defendant deserves to be disposed of with a direction to the trial Court to decide the application filed by the defendant under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC preferably as early as possible within a month from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order.

8. Accordingly, without interfering with the impugned order, the petition filed by the defendant is disposed of with a direction to the trial Court to decide the application filed by the defendant under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC preferably within a month from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. Till then, further proceedings regarding the suit pending before the commercial Court concerned shall remain stayed.

9. Pending application(s), if any, stand(s) disposed of.