Courts in Delhi NCR and Other Cities: Questions and Answers

Usually where the defendant carries on business, or where the cause of action arose, wholly or partly. Think of where the contract was made, or where payment was due. Your contract can also pick one of those places. See which court will hear my case for the detail.

A Delhi district court, on today's limits. Suits valued from Rs 3 lakh up to Rs 2 crore go to the District Judge (Commercial Court) at the district court complexes. Above Rs 2 crore, you're in the Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court. What counts is the principal plus the interest you claim up to the day of filing, so your claim stays below the line. For now. A proposal to raise the district court limit has been under consideration since late 2025. Check the limit again in the week you file. Our page on Delhi district commercial courts explains how they work day to day.

If you're claiming it, it usually does. Section 12 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 treats the specified value as the money you sue for, plus interest worked out to the filing date. Your invoices carried GST. The buyer hasn't paid them in full. So the GST part is simply part of the debt you're claiming, and it counts. Suit costs don't, and neither does interest that runs after filing. Close to the line? Do the sum date by date. A few extra weeks of interest can tip a suit into the High Court, and people are often surprised by that. Our guide on how specified value is worked out shows the method.

It turns on the district where the defendant does business or where the cause of action arose. Which building is nearer to you doesn't matter. Roughly: Saket takes South and South East Delhi, Patiala House takes New Delhi, Tis Hazari has Central and West, Karkardooma handles East, North East and Shahdara, Rohini covers North and North West, and Dwarka has South West. Boundaries are notified locality by locality. An address close to a border needs checking against the notification. And the filing branch won't keep a suit that has nothing to do with its district.

Not because it's closer. Convenience isn't a ground. Section 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure lets you sue where the defendant carries on business, which for a Laxmi Nagar buyer means Karkardooma, or where any part of the cause of action arose. If you received and accepted the purchase order at your Dwarka office, or the contract says payment is to be made there, Dwarka may have jurisdiction as well. But a Dwarka address on your letterhead, on its own, won't do it. In that case, file at Karkardooma.

You do, yes. The commercial court for Gautam Buddh Nagar district sits in the district court complex at Surajpur, Greater Noida. No commercial suit is heard anywhere inside Noida city. Section 12A mediation runs through the District Legal Services Authority in that same complex, so you'll be making the trip for that too. Budget time for the drive on hearing days. You can also ask whether a particular date can be attended by video, though check what the court currently allows. Our page on the Noida commercial court at Surajpur covers filing and listing.

It depends on which notification is in force the day you file. When Uttar Pradesh first set up its commercial courts, Ghaziabad and Hapur were put under the commercial court at Gautam Buddh Nagar, sitting at Surajpur. The Allahabad High Court changes these arrangements from time to time. Don't assume. Check the current notification and the Ghaziabad district court website before the plaint is drafted, because it has to be addressed to whichever court is designated as the Commercial Court for the district. We keep our Ghaziabad commercial court page updated on this.

As a rule, yes. Manesar, Sohna, Pataudi and Farrukhnagar are all inside Gurugram district. Commercial suits of Rs 3 lakh and above from anywhere in the district go to the court designated as the Commercial Court for Gurugram. The smaller civil courts in the sub-divisions, where there are any, don't try commercial suits of specified value. One practical thing. After the May 2026 fire at the old Civil Lines complex, the courts shifted to the new Tower of Justice complex, so confirm your courtroom on the eCourts website before every date. Our Gurugram commercial court page has more.

Ballabgarh, yes. Palwal, usually no. Ballabgarh falls in Faridabad district, so its commercial disputes go to the commercial court at the Sector 12 court complex. Palwal was carved out as a separate district in 2008 and has its own district courts. If your buyer is in Palwal and the deal was done there, the suit goes to the court designated as the Commercial Court for Palwal. That changes if the goods were delivered, or payment was due, in Faridabad. Then a Faridabad filing may still be open to you. See our Faridabad commercial court page.

It comes down to one difference. The Delhi High Court has ordinary original civil jurisdiction, and the Allahabad High Court doesn't. So in Delhi, a suit above the district courts' pecuniary limit is tried on the High Court's original side, in its Commercial Division. Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have no original side at all. Every commercial suit there, however big, starts in the district-level commercial court and only reaches the High Court on appeal. That's why a Rs 10 crore claim filed in Gurugram or Faridabad would also stay in the district.

Very few. The Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Himachal Pradesh High Courts have ordinary original civil jurisdiction. Each hears commercial suits above its own threshold in a Commercial Division. Mumbai's a moving target, though. The City Civil Court's limit there was raised recently, and far fewer suits now begin in the Bombay High Court, so check the current figure. Everywhere else, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana included, commercial suits begin in a district-level commercial court, whatever the amount. Our Mumbai page explains how the split works there.

Start with where the money can actually be recovered. A decree is easiest to execute where the defendant's bank accounts and property sit. The city also changes which court you're in. In Delhi, a claim above Rs 2 crore goes to the High Court; at Surajpur, the same claim stays with the district commercial court. Then weigh witness travel, how backed up each court is, and any jurisdiction clause in the contract. When clients ask Advocate B.K. Singh this, he usually begins with the defendant's assets. A decree from the wrong city means a transfer step before anyone sees a rupee.

Every fact you'd have to prove to win, and the place where each one happened. In a supply claim that's usually where the contract was made or the order accepted, where the goods were delivered or the work done, and where payment fell due. Section 20(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure lets a city's courts hear the suit if any part of that bundle arose there. Courts look at substance, not labels. A stray email sent from Delhi won't do. Nor will a Delhi bank account the buyer was never obliged to pay into.

Usually whichever document actually made the contract. If you accepted the purchase order and supplied against it, its terms probably govern, Mumbai clause and all. A line printed on an invoice you sent after the deal was done is often treated as your own one-sided statement, something the buyer never agreed to. It's different if the buyer signed or stamped your terms. It's also different where you've traded for years on your standard conditions. Put the two documents side by side before you file anywhere. Getting this wrong can cost months.

Not always. Under the Explanation to Section 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a company is taken to do business at its principal office. It's also taken to do business at a subordinate office, but only for a cause of action that arose there. The Supreme Court has applied that sensibly. When the entire deal ran through the branch, you sue where the branch is, and the head office address doesn't help you. If the order, delivery and payment all happened in Gurugram, that's where you file. A Delhi suit may be possible if some part of the deal touched Delhi.

It can, if a real piece of the transaction happened in Delhi. With contracts made by email or online acceptance, courts often ask where the acceptance was received. But they weigh the whole deal, not one click. Add where the goods were delivered and where payment was due, and you may well find a Delhi connection. The buyer will object. Count on it. So the plaint should set out each Delhi fact alongside the document that proves it, and you can answer the objection at the first hearing.

Not for a suit. Parties can choose one of the courts that already has jurisdiction on the facts, and courts generally hold them to it. What they can't do is hand jurisdiction to a court that has none. Arbitration is different. Make Delhi the seat of arbitration in the contract and Delhi courts supervise the arbitration even if nothing else happened here, as the Supreme Court explained in BGS SGS Soma JV v. NHPC (2019). It's one reason businesses spread over several states opt for a DIAC arbitration clause.

Not easily. Under Section 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure, an objection to the place of suing has to be taken in the trial court at the earliest possible opportunity, and before issues are settled. An appeal court won't hear it later unless there's been a failure of justice. If you're the one sued in the wrong city, raise it in your first reply and again in the written statement. If you're the plaintiff, sort the point out early. A plaint returned under Order VII Rule 10 costs months.

Write down the date of service. Then go after jurisdiction. The 30 to 120 day clock for your written statement keeps ticking while you argue about the court, so diarise it today. Next, read the plaint for whatever facts it uses to place the suit in that city. If they don't stand up, apply for return of the plaint under Order VII Rule 10, and repeat the objection in the written statement. Don't skip the written statement hoping the jurisdiction point wins by itself. That's a gamble we wouldn't take. Advocate B.K. Singh's team can look at the summons if you reach us through the contact page.

You can, but the grounds have to be real. Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure lets the District Judge move a case between courts within the same district, and lets the Delhi High Court move it from one district to another. Courts allow it for things like a connected suit pending elsewhere, or a reasonable fear of bias shown with facts. One side's convenience won't do. Neither will unhappiness over a few adverse orders. A transfer application eats time too, so first ask whether it actually helps your case.

The High Court can do it. Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure lets the Allahabad High Court transfer a suit between districts in Uttar Pradesh, and lets the Punjab and Haryana High Court do the same within Haryana. The usual reasons are connected cases that should be heard together, or a fair-trial worry backed by facts. What Section 24 can't do is cross a state border, say from Gurugram into Delhi. Only the Supreme Court can. It rarely does in commercial cases.

The second suit can be put on hold. Section 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure bars a court from going ahead with a suit when an earlier one, between the same parties and raising the same matter directly and substantially, is already pending before another competent court in India. That's why being first to file often helps. Sometimes the two suits overlap without matching exactly. Then a party can ask for both to be tried together, and with one court in Delhi and the other in Haryana, that request goes to the Supreme Court as a transfer petition. Don't expect it to be quick.

Rarely by transfer. Moving a case from one state to another needs a Supreme Court petition under Section 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and it's granted only where it's expedient for the ends of justice. Distance and cost on their own seldom move the Court in a fight between two businesses. The better step is usually taken in the Kolkata court itself. Show that no part of the cause of action arose there and ask for the plaint to be returned. For that you'll need local counsel briefed quickly, well inside your written statement deadline.

Through associate counsel who practise in that court. Your Delhi team reads the documents, decides the strategy, and drafts or checks the notice, the mediation application and the plaint. Local counsel handle the registry, the local rules and the day-to-day appearances. Think of the Bombay High Court's Original Side Rules, or the listing habits of the Bengaluru commercial courts. You'll sign vakalatnamas in favour of the advocates who actually appear. Most meetings can still happen online, or at our Delhi NCR offices. For that city, see our Bengaluru page.

Court fee changes. Procedure, at its core, doesn't. Every state sets its own court fee by its own statute, so a Rs 50 lakh suit won't cost the same in Delhi as in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra or Karnataka; look up that state's current schedule. But the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and the amended Code of Civil Procedure run across the whole country. Section 12A mediation, the 120-day outer limit for a written statement, the 60-day window to appeal: all the same. Where you'll feel a difference is in High Court rules, filing formats and how cases get listed locally.

Usually, yes. Most High Courts work in English, and a document in another language normally goes in with an English translation. Some district courts work in the local language as well, which can cut against a Delhi party sued there. Get the translations done early and have someone check them. A disputed translation becomes one more thing to fight about in evidence. Closer to home, Hindi documents are common in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad, and those courts work in Hindi and English.

Yes, that's where it's heard, though you won't necessarily be making the trip often. An appeal against a Gautam Buddh Nagar or Ghaziabad decree lies to the Commercial Appellate Division of the Allahabad High Court, sitting at Prayagraj itself. The Lucknow Bench doesn't take it. Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act gives you 60 days to file. Lawyers based at Prayagraj do the filing and most appearances, and hearings by video are often allowed, though you should check what's current. That leaves you two jobs: getting the certified copy quickly, and deciding whether you need a stay. Our Allahabad High Court page has the rest.

Yes. Since 2011, when Section 30 of the Advocates Act, 1961 was finally brought into force, any advocate enrolled with a State Bar Council has had the right to practise in every court in the country. Chandigarh has its own ways, though. Paper books, court fee and listing all follow the High Court's rules, and someone local makes that smoother. Advocate B.K. Singh handles commercial appeals going from Gurugram and Faridabad to Chandigarh; the record's studied and the grounds are drafted in Delhi NCR. See our Punjab and Haryana High Court page for how the appeal runs.

In most cases it'll have to move to the High Court. The forum is fixed by the value you put in the plaint. Interest the court awards later, for the time after filing, doesn't change anything. An amendment is another matter. Raise the claim through an amendment and take it past the district court's limit, and that court no longer has jurisdiction. The usual result is that the plaint's returned to you for filing in the Delhi High Court. It's far better to get the whole claim right at the start. You'll save months.

Value decides the court here too, but the IP statutes give you more choice on place. If the suit's valued within the district limit, a district commercial court hears it. Above that, it's the Delhi High Court, where the Intellectual Property Division takes it. As for geography, Section 134 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957 allow the owner to file where it does business itself, rather than just in the infringer's town. There's a catch. The Supreme Court has cut this back where the owner also has an office at the place of infringement. Our trademark suit page goes further.

Not necessarily. Courts read the clause with the rest of the contract and ask what the parties meant. If they clearly picked the New Delhi district, the suit goes to Patiala House, or to the High Court above the limit. But plenty of contracts use 'New Delhi' loosely to mean Delhi. Then the right district court depends on where in Delhi the cause of action arose. The defendant will argue whichever reading helps him. So your plaint should explain why the court you've chosen fits.

Not on that basis alone, usually. A website that opens in Delhi doesn't by itself mean the seller carries on business here. Courts want something more, like sales actually made to Delhi buyers through the site, deliveries into Delhi, or targeting of Delhi customers. Your own order helps. If you ordered through the site from Delhi and the goods were delivered here, part of the cause of action probably arose in Delhi. Hold on to the order emails and delivery records. They'll carry the jurisdiction argument.

Yes, where the matter's genuinely urgent. During the summer break the Delhi High Court has vacation benches sitting, and the district courts have their own arrangements for urgent civil work. You also don't need to go through Section 12A mediation first if your suit really does need urgent interim relief. Look at the latest vacation notice to find out which bench sits when. Expect to be asked why it can't wait until the courts reopen. Our page on interim injunctions sets out what the judge will look for.

Often, yes. Delhi's district courts hold hybrid hearings in many matters, and a party or counsel can ask to join by video conference. It's the court's call, though. Some stages, recording of evidence for one, may need you there in person or a formal video arrangement. Check how that particular court works and ask well ahead, not on the morning of the hearing. In matters Advocate B.K. Singh's team handles, clients hear before each date whether they need to attend at all. Many don't.