Commercial Court Shall Not Allow Written Statement To Be Taken On Record After Lapse Of 120 Days From Service: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that the Commercial Court shall not allow a written statement filed in a suit to be take on record if 120 days has passed since the date of service of summons.

A single bench of Justice C S Dias observed that under Section 16 of Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the Code of Civil Procedure,1908 will stand amended while being applied to commercial disputes as set out in the Schedule to the Commercial Courts Act. As a result, Orders V and VIII of the CPC have been amended by the Schedule. As per the amended provision, a defendant has to file the written statement within 120 days of the service of summons. If the defendant fails to do so, the right to file a written statement in the suit stands forfeited and the court will refuse to accept the written statement on record at a later stage.

The affirm this view, the court referred to SCG Contracts India Pvt. Ltd v. K.S Chamankar Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd & Ors[(2019) 12 SCC 210] in which the Supreme Court held that compliance with the amended provisions of Orders V and VIII of the CPC were mandatory. The court also referred to the decision in Raj Process Equipments and Systems Pvt Ltd & Ors v. Honest Derivatives Pvt Ltd [2022 LiveLaw (SC) 928] of the Supreme Court that held that if a suit filed before a Civil Court is later transferred to the Commercial Court, the amended provisions of Orders V and VIII of the CPC must be complied with.

In the matter at hand, the written statement was filed in a matter before the commercial court after the lapse of a whole year. The commercial court rejected the application to accept the delayed written statement. The said order of the commercial court was challenged before the court. The court held that as the written statement was filed beyond 120 days, the court was right in refusing to take it on record and upheld the order of the court below.

Case Title: Anil MP V Capital Finserv Ltd

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 131

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