1. Petition under Section 15(5) CC Act and Section 24 CPC to transfer a civil suit to a Commercial Court. (Para 1 )
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2026 Supreme(Online)(Del) 20010
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, J
Subhash Chander Bansal – Appellant
Versus
KG Infotech Private Limited – Respondent
TR.P.(C.) 63/2025
Important Points
Section 24 of the CPC remains applicable for transferring suits involving commercial disputes to Commercial Courts. Procedural non-compliance under the Commercial Courts Act, including pre-suit mediation, does not preclude transfer and can be adjudicated by the transferee court.
Subject
Civil - Commercial Law
Act Referred
Commercial Courts Act, 2015: S.15(5), S.16, S.12A, S.3
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908: S.24, O.VII R.11
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908: S.24, O.VII R.11
Headnote
(A) Transfer of Suits - Interplay between CPC and Commercial Courts Act - Power of High Court under Section 24 of the CPC continues to operate in respect of suits relating to commercial disputes of specified value, as the statutory requirements of the Commercial Courts Act do not exclude this power. (Para 6)
(B) Procedural Compliance - Pre-institution Mediation and Statement of Truth - Non-compliance with Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act or other procedural protocols does not bar the transfer of a suit; such objections can be raised and decided on merits before the Transferee Court. (Para 6, 7)
Issues: Whether a suit relating to a commercial dispute can be transferred under Section 24 of the CPC to a Commercial Court despite potential non-compliance with the procedural requirements of the Commercial Courts Act.
Result: Petition allowed.
(B) Procedural Compliance - Pre-institution Mediation and Statement of Truth - Non-compliance with Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act or other procedural protocols does not bar the transfer of a suit; such objections can be raised and decided on merits before the Transferee Court. (Para 6, 7)
Issues: Whether a suit relating to a commercial dispute can be transferred under Section 24 of the CPC to a Commercial Court despite potential non-compliance with the procedural requirements of the Commercial Courts Act.
Result: Petition allowed.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Rakshit Gupta
For the Respondents: Puneet Kumar Rai
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Rakshit Gupta
For the Respondents: Puneet Kumar Rai
Table of Contents
2. Respondent had no objection to transfer but sought liberty to raise objections, including non-compliance with CC Act requirements. (Para 3 , 4 )
3. Section 24 CPC continues to apply to commercial disputes; its power is not excluded by the CC Act. (Para 5 , 6 , 7 )
4. Section 24 CPC is not amended by the CC Act schedule, so the High Court retains power to transfer commercial suits. (Para 6 )
5. Petition allowed; civil suit transferred to a Commercial Court of competent jurisdiction at its present stage. (Para 9 )
6. Does the High Court retain power under Section 24 CPC to transfer suits relating to commercial disputes of specified value?
Yes, because Section 24 CPC was not amended by the schedule to the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and its power is not impliedly excluded. (Para 5 , 6 )
7. Can procedural requirements under the Commercial Courts Act, such as the Statement of Truth, be complied with after transfer?
Yes, a transferee court can allow the plaintiff to re-file the plaint in accordance with the Commercial Courts Act protocol, including the Statement of Truth. (Para 7 )
8. Does the transfer of a suit under Section 24 CPC prejudice a party's right to raise objections regarding non-compliance with Section 12A of the CC Act?
No, the right to raise such objections before the transferee court remains unaffected and preserved. (Para 6 , 7 )
JUDGEMENT (Oral)
1. The present Petition has been filed under Section 15(5) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 [“CC Act”] read with Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 [“CPC”], seeking transfer of the suit being CS DJ 185/2022 [“Civil Suit”] titled “Subhash Chander Bansal v. K.G. Infosystem Pvt. Ltd.”, presently pending before the Court of the learned Additional District Judge-01, South-East District, Saket Courts, New Delhi [“learned Trial Court”], to a Commercial Court of competent jurisdiction.
2. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the parties submit that the aforesaid Civil Suit is presently pending before the learned Trial Court and is at the stage of Plaintiff's evidence.
3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondent forthrightly submits that the Respondent has no objection to the transfer of the aforesaid Civil Suit. He, however, submits that the Respondent may be permitted to raise all such objections as may be available to it in law before the learned Transferee Court, including objections relating to non-compliance with the mandatory requirements prescribed under the CC Act, as also any other objection available in law.
4. Liberty, as sought for, is granted. It is clarified that the transfer of the suit shall not prejudice the Respondent's right to raise any objection available to it in law before the learned Transferee Court.
5. Before proceeding further, it would be apposite to consider the legal position governing the power of this Court to transfer a suit relating to a commercial dispute of specified value under Section 24 of the CPC.
6. In Namita Gupta v. Suraj Holdings Ltd. , 2024 SCC OnLine Del 143, this Court considered the interplay between Section 24 of the CPC and the provisions of the CC Act and held that Section 24 of the CPC continues to operate in respect of suits relating to commercial disputes of specified value. It was further held that the statutory requirements under the CC Act do not, by themselves, exclude or take away the power of transfer vested in this Court under Section 24 of the CPC. The relevant observations are extracted hereinbelow:
“63. As noted hereinabove, Section 16 of the Act provides that the provisions of the CPC shall apply to any Suit in respect of Commercial Dispute of a Specified Value, subject to the amended provisions thereof as provided in the Schedule appended to the Act. Section 24 of the CPC is not a provision which has been amended by the said Schedule. It, therefore, continues to apply in full force to a Suit in respect of a Commercial Dispute of a Specified Value. If the Legislature wanted to take away this power from the Court, it would have expressly stated so by deleting the said provision in the Schedule to the Act; it did not do so. There is also no implied exclusion of this power, as this power, in no manner, is in conflict with any provisions of the Act.
64. As far as non-compliance with Section 12A of the Act is concerned, the Transferee Court shall consider the said objection on merits upon the transfer of the Suit. The transfer of the Suit does not, in any manner, affect the right of the defendant to contend that the Suit has been filed without any cause of action or is otherwise barred by any provision of law or is liable to be dismissed under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC for any other reason, including for the failure of the plaintiff to initiate pre-suit mediation as mandated under Section 12A of the Act. These objections would remain open to the defendant even on the transfer of the Suit under Section 24 of the Act.
65. As held hereinabove, a Commercial Court, constituted under Section 3 of the Act, would be a Court subordinate to the High Court. Reference in this regard may also be made to the judgment of the Supreme Court in Life Insurance Corporation of India v. Nandini J. Shah , (2018) 15 SCC 356. Therefore, there is no reason to exclude the applicability of Section 24 of the CPC to a Suit in relatio
