Commercial Courts Act, 2015
Section 15: Transfer of Pending Cases to Commercial Courts and Commercial Divisions
Section 15 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 governs the transfer of pending suits and applications that concern a commercial dispute of Specified Value. It applies to qualifying matters pending before a High Court or civil court when the competent Commercial Division or Commercial Court has been constituted.
Meaning of important expressions
Commercial dispute
Section 2(1)(c) defines a "commercial dispute" broadly. It includes disputes arising from ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers and traders; export or import; admiralty and maritime matters; construction and infrastructure contracts; commercial use of immovable property; franchising, distribution and licensing; management and consultancy; joint ventures; shareholders agreements; intellectual property rights; sale of goods or provision of services; insurance; agency and other notified commercial matters.
Specified Value
Under Section 2(1)(i), "Specified Value" means the value of the subject matter of a commercial dispute as determined under Section 12. The statutory floor is not less than Rs. 3 lakh, or such higher value as may be notified by the Central Government.
Section 15 - statutory text
(1) All suits and applications, including applications under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, relating to a commercial dispute of a Specified Value pending in a High Court where a Commercial Division has been constituted, shall be transferred to the Commercial Division.
(2) All suits and applications, including applications under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, relating to a commercial dispute of a Specified Value pending in any civil court in a district or area in respect of which a Commercial Court has been constituted, shall be transferred to such Commercial Court.
Proviso: no suit or application where final judgment was reserved before constitution of the Commercial Division or Commercial Court shall be transferred under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2).
(3) When a suit or application stands transferred under sub-section (1) or (2), the provisions of the Commercial Courts Act apply to procedural steps that were not complete at the time of transfer.
(4) The Commercial Division or Commercial Court may hold case management hearings for a transferred matter, prescribe new timelines and issue further directions required for speedy and efficacious disposal in accordance with Order XV-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
The proviso to sub-rule (1) of Rule 1 of Order V CPC does not apply to such a transferred suit or application, and the court may, in its discretion, prescribe a fresh time period for filing the written statement.
(5) If a qualifying suit or application is not transferred in the manner contemplated by Section 15, the Commercial Appellate Division of the High Court may, on an application by a party, withdraw the case from the court where it is pending and transfer it to the Commercial Division or Commercial Court having territorial jurisdiction. The transfer order is final and binding.
Legislative note: the reference in Section 15(4) is to Order XV-A of the CPC. This was substituted for the earlier reference to Order XIV-A with effect from 3 May 2018.
How Section 15 operates
| Situation | Result under Section 15 |
|---|---|
| Commercial suit/application of Specified Value pending in a High Court where a Commercial Division exists | Transfer to the Commercial Division under Section 15(1). |
| Commercial suit/application of Specified Value pending in a civil court where a Commercial Court has been constituted | Transfer to the Commercial Court under Section 15(2). |
| Final judgment was reserved before constitution of the Commercial Division or Commercial Court | No transfer under Section 15(1) or 15(2). |
| Procedural steps were incomplete on the date of transfer | The Commercial Courts Act applies to those incomplete procedural steps under Section 15(3). |
| Case needs fresh procedural directions after transfer | The commercial forum may hold a case management hearing and prescribe new timelines under Section 15(4). |
| Eligible matter was not transferred | A party may move the Commercial Appellate Division for withdrawal and transfer under Section 15(5). |
Transfer of arbitration matters
Section 15 expressly includes applications under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Therefore, a pending arbitration-related application that concerns a commercial dispute of Specified Value may be transferred to the appropriate Commercial Division or Commercial Court, subject to the jurisdictional structure created by the Commercial Courts Act and the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
Effect of transfer on procedure
Transfer does not require every completed procedural step to be repeated. Section 15(3) applies the Commercial Courts Act to procedures that remained incomplete when the transfer took place. Section 15(4) further empowers the commercial forum to use case management powers, reset timelines where permitted and issue directions for efficient disposal.
Related provisions
Section 15 should be read together with Section 2 (definitions), Section 10 (arbitration matters), Section 12 (determination of Specified Value), Section 14 (expeditious disposal of appeals) and Section 16 (CPC amendments for commercial disputes).
This page provides general legal information and the text/explanation of Section 15. For application to a particular pending case, the relevant pleadings, valuation, territorial jurisdiction, court notifications and procedural stage should be checked.