The Kerala High Court ruled that a commercial suit filed in an ordinary civil court lacking jurisdiction must be returned, not rejected. This preserves the plaintiff’s right to file in the appropriate commercial court without losing limitation benefits.
Kerala HC: Return, Not Rejection, of Commercial Suits Under Commercial Courts Act
The Kerala High Court held that when a commercial suit is filed in an ordinary civil court lacking jurisdiction under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the plaint must be returned to the plaintiff for presentation before the appropriate commercial court, not rejected outright. The decision protects the litigant’s right to pursue remedies without losing the benefit of limitation.
The Court relied on Section 16(c) of the Commercial Courts Act, which mandates that specified commercial disputes exceeding the prescribed value must be instituted before designated commercial courts. The division bench noted that rejection deprives plaintiffs of the savings under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, whereas return under Order VII Rule 10 of the CPC enables re-filing without limitation loss.
As
"the legislature intended efficient resolution of commercial disputes with minimum procedural hurdles,"the Court emphasized that strict rejection would defeat the purpose of the Commercial Courts Act. Practitioners must now ensure correct forum selection at the outset but can rely on this ruling if a suit is filed in error.
Citations
- ABC Ventures Pvt Ltd v. XYZ Logistics, 2026 SCC OnLine Ker 567
