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Pinnacle Innovatory Services Private Limited vs. Sh. Raj Kumar Singhal

Civil Miscellaneous (Main) Petition · 2026:DHC:7836Decided 15 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
CM(M) 1514/2026CNR: DLHC010309282026
Justice Ajay Digpaul

Background

In a commercial recovery suit for about Rs. 39 lakh, the defendant company claimed it was never properly served with the summons and only learned of the case through an unrelated court records search, nearly a year after proceedings had begun and its defence had already been struck off for failing to file a written statement in time. It argued that the email address used for service belonged to a former outside accountant, not the company itself.

Decision Breakdown

The Court found this claim untenable, since the very email address used for service was the same one the company itself had used in its own official filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Since India's Commercial Courts Act imposes a strict, non-extendable outer limit of 120 days to file a written statement, and the company filed its written statement roughly five months after that deadline expired (despite being told about the case and given a chance to seek condonation), the trial court was right to have permanently closed its right to defend. The High Court accordingly upheld the trial court's refusal to accept the late written statement and dismissed the petition.

Lesson Learnt

A business cannot disown an email address it has itself used in official government filings just because service of a lawsuit was inconvenient, and in commercial suits, the 120-day deadline to file a written statement is a hard, non-negotiable limit that courts cannot extend.

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