ORDER :

Delay condoned.

The application under Order VII, Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908¹[For short, “the Code”], filed by the petitioner – Yamini Manohar, defendant in C.S. (Comm.) No. 205/2022, has been rightly dismissed.

2. Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015,²[For short, “the CC Act”], reads:

“12A. Pre-litigation Mediation and Settlement:—

(1) A suit, which does not contemplate any urgent interim relief under this Act, shall not be instituted unless the plaintiff exhausts the remedy of pre-litigation mediation in accordance with such manner and procedure as may be prescribed by rules made by the Central Government.

(2) For the purposes of pre-litigation mediation, the Central Government may, by notification, authorise—

(i) the Authority, constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987); or

(ii) a mediation service provider as defined under clause (m) of Section 3 of the Mediation Act, 2023.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987), the Authority or mediation service provider authorised by the Central Government under sub-section (2) shall complete the process of mediation within a p