Delhi HC issues notice in petition challenging transfer of Execution Petitions worth less than 2 crore

The Delhi High Court today issued notice in a petition challenging an administrative order passed by the High Court in 2016. The Delhi High Court had directed the Registry to not accept Execution Applications in cases involving money decrees worth less than Rs. 2 crore..The administrative order passed by then Chief Justice G Rohini back in November 2016 also directed the Registry to transfer existing Execution Applications involving a sum of less than Rs. 2 crore to the district courts..The petition has been filed by the Secretary of Asian Patent Attorneys Association, Sudeep Chatterjee, who is also a Partner at Singh & Singh. The petition filed through Anand and Anand Partner Shrawan Chopra, contends that the order is contrary to provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division Of High Courts Act, 2015, as well as judgments of the High Court..By way of background, the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act was passed in 2015, thereby increasing the pecuniary jurisdiction of the High Court to Rs. 2 crore. In effect, suits and applications worth less than this amount would have to be filed in Delhi’s subordinate courts..Four months later, the Centre notified the Commercial Courts Act, with a view to setting up courts to adjudicate commercial disputes of specific values. Subsequently, the Delhi High Court issued an office order, stating that all suits or other proceedings related to commercial disputes valued at less than 1 crore and between 1 and 2 crore would be transferred to lower courts..This office order would then be challenged by way of a writ petition filed by the present petitioner organisation. It was then prayed that suits and applications arising out of Intellectual Property Rights disputes, irrespective of value, are not required to be transferred to lower courts in view of the Proviso to Section 7 of Commercial Courts Act..On December 3, 2015, a Division Bench of the High Court stayed the operation of the office order. Four months later, in April 2016, Chief Justice Rohini would issue a notification stating that all suits/applications covered by the Proviso to Section 7 would be heard and disposed of by a Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court..However, seven months later the High Court would later issue the order that is the subject of the present challenge..It is contended in the petition that as per Section 37 of the CPC, the court which passed the decree will have power to execute until it ceases to exist or have jurisdiction. As regards the latter part of this provision, the High Court in 2004 had decided whether as a result of change in pecuniary jurisdiction, pending execution applications are liable to be transferred to district courts. It was held in Pearey Lal & Sons Pvt Ltd v. Jamuna Properties,.“…there can be no doubt that the Court which passed the decree, in this case being the High Court, does not lose jurisdiction to execute the same because of the increase in pecuniary jurisdiction.”.Further, it is contended that the High Court, while passing the administrative order, failed to take into account the Proviso to Section 7 of the Commercial Courts Act, which states,.“Provided that all suits and applications relating to commercial disputes, stipulated by an Act to lie in a court not inferior to a District Court, and filed or pending on the original side of the High Court, shall be heard and disposed of by the Commercial Division of the High Court.”.It is also claimed that Execution Petitions are a continuation of the suit, and that such petitions arising out of commercial disputes will have to be heard and disposed of by the Commercial Division of the High Court, irrespective of valuation..Therefore, it is prayed that the administrative order of November 2016 be quashed, or modified in view of the Commercial Courts Act..Today, a Bench of Justices SR Bhat and AK Chawla issued notice in the petition, and listed the matter for April 11..Read the petition: