Cabinet Okays Bill To Set Up Commercial Divisions In Courts

NEW DELHI: In a move aimed to speed up the disposal of commercial suits and take into consideration the Law Commission's recommendations on the matter, the union cabinet okayed the introduction of a bill to set up exclusive commercial divisions in courts.

The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved to introduce in the current session of parliament a bill called "The Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015", the government said in a statement.

The commercial divisions would deal with 'commercial disputes', which are defined to mean disputes arising out of ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers and traders such as those relating to mercantile documents, joint venture and partnership agreements, intellectual property rights, insurance and other areas.

Commercial Divisions are to be set up in those high courts which are already exercising ordinary original civil jurisdiction such as the Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, and Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The Commercial Divisions will exercise jurisdiction over all cases and applications relating to commercial disputes.

The Commercial Division shall have territorial jurisdiction over such area on which it has original jurisdiction.

The Commercial Courts which will be equivalent to District Courts are to be set up in states and union territories where the high courts do not have ordinary original civil jurisdiction, and in the states where the high court has original jurisdiction in respect of those regions to which the original jurisdiction of a high court does not extend.

The minimum pecuniary jurisdiction of such Commercial Courts and Commercial Division is proposed as 1 crore, the statement said.

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