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Manoj Kakkar vs. M/s Kiaasa Retail Pvt Ltd and Anr.

Transfer Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:7443Decided 2 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
TR.P.(C.) 98/2025CNR: DLHC010358162025
Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar

Background

Manoj Kakkar's civil suit against Kiaasa Retail, pending since 2020 and already at the evidence stage, involved a commercial dispute. He asked the High Court to transfer it from the ordinary civil court to the dedicated Commercial Court. The respondent objected, arguing that the transfer power under Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) doesn't apply to commercial suits, and that mandatory formalities under the Commercial Courts Act (like a "Statement of Truth" and pre-suit mediation) hadn't been completed.

Decision Breakdown

Relying on its own earlier decisions, the Court held that Section 24 CPC continues to apply in full to commercial disputes, since the Commercial Courts Act's schedule of amendments does not touch or exclude that provision. Any missing formalities, such as the Statement of Truth, could be completed after the transfer, and the objection about pre-suit mediation could still be raised before the new court. The suit was accordingly transferred to the Commercial Court at whatever stage it currently stood.

Lesson Learnt

A commercial dispute pending in an ordinary civil court is not immune from being transferred under standard procedural law, and missing paperwork specific to commercial suits can typically be fixed after transfer rather than blocking it.

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