Balapragatha M and Harshita Seksaria

1. Commercial Courts Act- Stages

Commercial
dispute

Pre- In case of urgeny releif, a suit can

institution be directly filed
mediation

Filing of
suit/plaint

30-120
days Written
statement

Disclosure,
30 days discovery
and
inspection

15 days Admission
and denial of
documents

4 weeks from
admission and denial First Case
Managment
of documents meeting

Completion
6 months of oral
arguments

90 days Pronouncement of
judgment and costs

60 days Appeal

2.
a. Overview:
The main purpose of the Commercial Courts Act was to ensure speedy disposal of
high stake commercial matters. The Act came into force on 23.10.2015. Wherein the
Act had limited the specific value of the suit to not less than Rupees One crore and
the commercial courts were established at all the District levels.
b. Advantages:
i. The Commercial Court Act allows for a swift resolution of the case.
ii. In contrast to the standard CPC, the Act allows for the imposition of costs,
which ensures that the case is resolved quickly and prevents a lack of due
diligence.
iii. A rapid trial of the lawsuit is aided by summary judgement, pre-institution
mediation, and case management hearing.
iv. The Act calls for a methodical approach to presenting the argument.
v. There is less opportunity to take pointless adjournments, resulting in more
efficient use of the court's time.
c. Disadvantages
i. Since the Act has attempted to include a new method of handling cases, like
case management hearings which are used in other nations, it takes time for
the Indian jurisdiction to get acquainted.
ii. No precedent in the Act to follow and ensure uniformity.
d. Gaps:
i. The disparity in institutional rates and the disproportionate way that
commercial courts have been designated serve as an unfortunate but strong
reminder that the judiciary needs to prepare the execution of any act better.
Balapragatha M and Harshita Seksaria
ii. Section 17 makes it clear that the High Courts' indifference can undermine
well-intended laws that aim to strengthen judicial transparency and encourage
empirical evaluations of these courts.
iii. The act was introduced without concurrently raising the necessary human and
infrastructure resources, rendering its execution fundamentally unsustainable.