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2026 Supreme(Online)(Del) 16526
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Vikas Mahajan, J
Asian Hotels North Limited – Appellant
Versus
Exclusive Capital Limited – Respondent
CS(COMM) 376/2026|CS(COMM) 1360/2025|I.A. 9592/2026|I.A. 9593/2026|I.A. 12881/2026|I.A. 31762/2025|I.A. 12878/2026|I.A. 12884/2026|I.A. 12920/2026|I.A. 13262/2026|I.A. 13365/2026|I.A. 13366/2026
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mr. Rajiv Nayar, Mr. Jayant Mehta, Mr. Sidhant Kumar, Mr. Akshit Mago, Ms. Ekssha Kashyap, Ms. Moomal Joshi, Ms. Amita Gupta, Ms. Kamakshi Puri, Mr. Karan, Ms. Neharika Chhabra, Mr. Siddharth Yadav, Mr. Manav Goyal
For the Respondents: Mr. Sudhir Nandrajog, Mr. Apoorv Agarwal, Mr. Manav Goyal, Ms. Ritika Gusain, Ms. Amrita Sony, Ms. Ankita Singh, Mr. Madhur Dhingra, Mr. Kunal Tandon, Mr. Chetan Roy, Mr. Prakhar, Ms. Natasha, Ms. Shreni, Mr. Annirudh Sharma, Mr. Sumeet Pushkarna, Ms. Devika Mohan, Mr. Cyril Ignatious, Mr. Dhruv Negi, Mr. Jasmeet Singh, Mr. Saif Ali, Mr. Pushpendra S. Bhadoriya, Mr. Vijay Sharma, Mr. Ajita S. Williams, Mr. Pranav Menon, Mr. Saurav
Pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act may be bypassed if urgent interim relief is genuinely contemplated from the plaintiff's perspective. Security documents can be released at an interim stage if a strong prima facie case exists and the defendant's monetary interest is fully secured by cash.
Headnote:(A) Commercial Courts Act - Pre-institution Mediation - Exemption for urgent interim relief - Urgency must be assessed from the standpoint of the plaintiff; a bona fide threat of default or a continuing cause of action justifies bypassing the mandatory mediation process. (Para 15, 16, 18)
(B) Interlocutory Mandatory Injunction - Release of Security Documents - Triple Test - A very strong prima facie case, coupled with irreparable harm and balance of convenience, allows the court to grant interim relief even if it amounts to final relief, provided the other party's monetary interest is secured by substitution of security. (Para 98, 99, 100)
(C) Companies Act - Registration of Charge - Section 77 - Non-registration of a charge by the company does not absolve the company of its contractual obligations to repay the money secured by such charge. (Para 69, 96)
(D) Evidence - Bilateral Agreement vs Unilateral Letter - A signed bilateral agreement supported by contemporaneous conduct and email correspondence carries higher evidentiary value than a unilateral letter lacking acceptance or proof of delivery. (Para 87, 88, 89)
Issues: Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the release of original title deeds by substituting the disputed claim amount with cash security, and whether the requirement of pre-institution mediation can be dispensed with.
JUDGMENT
VIKAS MAHAJAN, J.
I.A. 9594/2026 (under Section 151 CPC r/w Section 12A(1) of Commercial Courts Act, 2015 seeking exemption from pre-institution mediation) in CS(COMM) 376/2026
1. By way of present application, plaintiff seeks exemption from pre-institution mediation.
2. It is stated in the application that the plaintiff is seeking urgent interim reliefs, specifically a mandatory injunction directing defendant no. 2/DBS Bank India Ltd to transfer possession of the original title documents (hereinafter referred as ‘Security Documents’) of the property described in the application as Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Subject Property’) to the plaintiff.
3. The plaintiff avers that defendant no.2/DBS Bank India Ltd is illegally retaining these documents purportedly on behalf of defendant no.1, whose alleged total crystallized claim of Rs. 1,59,66,05,228/- is merely a fraction of the Subject Property’s value of over Rs. 1000 Crores.
4. To demonstrate the necessity for urgent relief, it is pleaded that the plaintiff has recently raised Rs. 300 Crores through the issuance of Non- Convertible Debentures (NCDs) in favour of Vistra ITCL India Limited (hereinafter referred to as ‘Debenture Trustee’), which is secured by a registered charge on the Subject Property of the plaintiff. Further, it is stated that, pursuant to creation of charge in favour of Debenture Trustee on the subject property, Debenture Trustee is lawfully entitled to the title documents of the subject property.
5. Mr. Rajiv Nayyar, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the plaintiff, submits that the present suit contemplates grave and immediate urgency, as a letter dated 07.05.2026 has been issued by the Debenture Trustee (Vistra ITCL India Ltd.) calling upon the plaintiff to deposit the original title deeds. For ready reference, the said letter is reproduced below:
Date 7th May 2026 Asian Hotels (North) Ltd. (“AHNL”) Bhikaji Cama Place. New Delhi Subject: Deposit of original title deeds relating to the Secured Property charged with holders of NCDs We are writing to you in relation to the secured non-convertible debentures (the “NCDs”) issued pursuant to the denture trust deed dated 24 January 2026 executed between AHNL as the Issuer and VISTRA (INDIA) LIMITED (“DTD”) as the Debenture Trustee. Under the terms of DTD, AHNL is required to deposit the original title deeds (“Title Deeds”) of the property described as Hyatt Regency, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi (the “Secured Property”) with the Debenture Trustee. The aforesaid obligation for delivery of the title deeds is still pending. Accordingly, as requisitioned earlier as well, you are called upon to forthwith take all steps to secure the deposit of the Title Deeds at the earliest without any further delays. This letter is being issued without prejudice to our present or future rights and remedies under the DTD or under law, contract and/or equity, all of which rights and remedies and hereby expressly reserved. This notice shall not, and shall not be deemed to, waive any breach of terms of the DTD which may have occurred or may occur in the future. Nothing contained in this Notice shall, or shall be deemed to, waive or amend, in any manner, any of your obligations under the DTD and no failure or delay, whether past, present or future, on our part, to exercise any of our rights or remedies under the DTD, or under law and/or equity, shall constitute any waiver or amendment of those rights or remedies. All defined terms in the present letter shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the DTD. Kind regards, VISTRA ITCL (INDIA) LIMITED Debenture Trustee 6. He submits that, the continued retention of the Security Documents directly affects the active financing arrangement, and therefore, the suit contemplates urgent interim relief, rendering the requirement of pre-institution mediation inapplicable. 7. He further argues that the recall of Rs. 300 Crore debt woul
