Subhash Chander Bansal vs. M/S KG Infotech Private Limited
Background
Subhash Chander Bansal sought transfer of his pending civil suit against KG Infotech from an ordinary district court to a dedicated Commercial Court, since the dispute qualified as a "commercial dispute" under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. The respondent had no objection to the transfer itself but wanted the right to raise procedural objections (such as non-compliance with mandatory pre-suit mediation) before the new court.
Decision Breakdown
Relying on its own earlier rulings, the High Court held that Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code (the general transfer power) continues to apply fully to commercial suits, since it was never amended out by the Commercial Courts Act. The Court transferred the suit to the appropriate Commercial Court at its current stage, while expressly preserving the respondent's right to raise any objections, including on pre-institution mediation, before the new court, and directed that any formal filing requirements under the Commercial Courts Act be completed there.
Lesson Learnt
A commercial dispute mistakenly filed as, or later found to require, a Commercial Court can be transferred there under the ordinary transfer provisions of the CPC, without losing any of the objections a defendant would otherwise be entitled to raise.