Commercial Court Lawyer Near Tis Hazari Court: Which Suits Are Filed There

Which commercial suits get filed at Tis Hazari?

Delhi has eleven judicial districts, and two of them, Central and West, hold their commercial cases at Tis Hazari. Under Section 3 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, each of these districts has at least one District Judge designated as a Commercial Court, and they all sit in this complex. So when does your case end up here? Two conditions. The dispute must be commercial and worth Rs 3 lakh or more. And some piece of it has to tie back to Central or West Delhi in the way Section 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) demands.

There's an upper limit too. Rs 2 crore. Go past it and the suit belongs to the Delhi High Court's Commercial Division. In July 2026 the High Court's Full Court suggested raising the district limit to Rs 10 crore. That can't happen without amending the Delhi High Court Act, 1966, and as of October 2026 we don't know of any amendment in force. So check on filing day. Which side of that line you fall on decides which building your case sits in for the next couple of years.

The work that comes through here has a distinct flavour. Lots of invoice claims from Old Delhi's wholesale trade. Summary suits on cheques and written acknowledgments. Fights with distributors and stockists, disputes over shops rented purely for business, trademark and copyright suits of modest size, and arbitration applications in domestic matters worth no more than the district limit. We take each in turn below, then explain how territory is settled and what moving a suit through this packed complex really involves. For rules that apply across all Delhi districts, see our page on the Delhi district commercial courts.

Which areas come under the Tis Hazari commercial courts?

How territory decides if your suit belongs at Tis Hazari

Section 20 CPC gives you a choice of courts. You may sue where the defendant actually and voluntarily lives or works for gain, or where the cause of action arose, even in part. With money claims, a slice of the cause of action usually arises at three spots: where the order was placed and accepted, where goods were delivered or work done, and where payment was due. Delhi's district courts carve up the city by police station. Every one of those spots therefore maps to a thana, and every thana to a district. We built the table from published district lists. Those lists change now and then, so look at the latest one on the district court website first.

In Old Delhi this gets tangled fast. Picture a trader with his shop in Sadar Bazar (Central), stock kept in a Burari godown (Central), and the billing done from Model Town (North, which sits at Rohini). His Mayapuri supplier (West) drops goods at the godown and is paid into its Rajouri Garden bank branch (West). Now three courts could take the case. Both Tis Hazari districts, and Rohini. Choose the one where you can prove territory most cleanly, and say it in the plaint in plain words. Write something lazy like 'the cause of action arose in Delhi' and the defendant will spend your first few dates objecting to it.

Most invoice books printed in central Delhi carry the words 'subject to Delhi jurisdiction'. Fine, but that only gets you to Delhi. It says nothing about the district. If a clause names one court and only that court, something like 'courts at Tis Hazari alone', it's usually enforced so long as that court had jurisdiction to begin with. That follows the Supreme Court's reasoning in Swastik Gases v. Indian Oil Corporation (2013). Ask Advocate B.K. Singh where an Old Delhi trader should file and he'll want the e-way bills first, the contract later. A government-generated e-way bill shows the delivery address, and that answers the thana question far better than a letterhead ever will.

What kind of disputes come before the Tis Hazari commercial court?

• Wholesale invoice claims. Most of the work, honestly. You sold on credit to someone in Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar or Karol Bagh, the account ran for years, and payments came in bits. The case will turn on your ledger and GST returns. And on one question: did the buyer ever confirm the balance in writing?
• Summary suits on cheques, hundis and written promises. Hundis still appear in Order XXXVII CPC, right beside bills of exchange and promissory notes, and the way credit works in Old Delhi means the word hasn't died. Holding a dishonoured cheque, a signed acknowledgment, or a written contract for a fixed amount? Then a summary suit under Order XXXVII is often the quicker road. We explain it in our guide on a summary suit on a bounced cheque.
• Distributor, stockist and agency fights. A distributorship cut off, a security deposit never adjusted, stock sent back and never credited. They're commercial disputes under Section 2(1)(c) of the Act whether or not anyone signed a formal agreement, as long as the value crosses Rs 3 lakh.
• Shops let out only for trade. If a property is used purely for trade or commerce, a dispute over its lease is commercial. Many old Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh tenancies don't fit, though. Pay Rs 3,500 a month or less and you're under the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958. Eviction then goes before the Rent Controller, and the commercial court has no role.
• Trademark and copyright suits under Rs 2 crore. Fake goods pass through the wholesale markets all the time, and Daryaganj's publishers have been fighting pirated books and printed material for years. An owner can sue where it carries on business, under Section 134 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957. That's why a Central or West Delhi brand owner can often come to Tis Hazari even when the seller is in another city.
• Insurance and transport claims. An insurer turning down a godown fire claim, or a transporter losing a consignment. Both are commercial disputes, and they come here when the insured premises or the booking office is in these districts.
• Arbitration applications of similar value. In domestic arbitrations, Section 10 of the Commercial Courts Act routes applications under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to whichever commercial court has territorial jurisdiction. For Delhi, a Section 9 or Section 34 petition valued at Rs 2 crore or less can therefore come to Tis Hazari. Our network site arbitrationlawyer.in is where we handle these.

What doesn't go to the Tis Hazari commercial court?

Start with small claims. Under Rs 3 lakh, a business claim isn't a commercial suit as the Act defines it, so it's filed before the Civil Judge in the same complex and follows the older, slower procedure. Be careful near the line, though. Section 12 of the Act counts interest up to filing in the value, and that can push a claim sitting just under the line over it. Work out the sum first.

If you're a bank or financial institution and the dues are Rs 20 lakh or more, your forum is the Debts Recovery Tribunal. Not Tis Hazari. A bounced cheque has its own criminal track too: the complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is heard by the NI Act courts, and some of those happen to sit in this same building, but they're criminal courts. You can run that complaint and a civil suit at the same time. Our network site chequebouncelawyer.com deals with the criminal side.

Some things never belong in the commercial court. Consumer complaints. Residential tenancy disputes. Family business partitions, unless they're really about a trade partnership. And anything above Rs 2 crore goes a few kilometres south to the High Court. Still unsure whether yours is a commercial dispute? Our guide on where the commercial courts in Delhi sit puts all six complexes and the High Court next to each other.

Where's Tis Hazari Court, and how do you get there?

You'll find the Tis Hazari Courts complex on Lal Hardev Sahai Marg, Old Delhi 110054, just west of Kashmere Gate. It's been there since 1958. Of all Delhi's district complexes it's the oldest, and easily the most crowded. Everything is behind one boundary wall: the Central and West district courts and their filing sections, the copying agency, the legal services authority offices, and rows of lawyers' chambers.

The metro is your friend here. Tis Hazari station on the Red Line is just over the road, and a footbridge with a ramp brings you down at Gate No. 2. One stop on is Kashmere Gate, where the Yellow and Violet lines cross, with the inter-state bus terminal nearby if you're arriving by bus from Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand or western UP. Parking? There's very little, and it's gone early. By car, on a working morning, you'll often be the last to arrive.

Once you're inside, allow time. Security checks at the gates are routine, and the queues build up around 10 am. Courtrooms are spread over several blocks and floors, and the commercial courts aren't grouped in one corridor. The cause list gives you the courtroom number. A clerk, or your advocate, will tell you how to find it. People who walk in at 10.25 for a 10.30 listing usually miss their item.

How listing and hearings work in the Tis Hazari commercial courts

Look for 'District Judge (Commercial Court)' on the cause list, followed by a number and Central or West. Your suit gets a CS (COMM) number with the year. It also gets a CNR number. Punch that into the eCourts website or app and you can follow the case. Each district posts the next day's cause list on its own site, usually the evening before; for these two, that's the dcourts.gov.in platform. If the screens confuse you, our guide on checking your commercial case status online walks through them.

These days you mostly file online, and give hard copies if the court wants them. The scrutiny branch then goes through the court fee, the Section 12A report, the vakalatnama and its welfare stamp, the statement of truth and the documents, and lists its objections. Fix them quickly. In a quieter complex a returned file costs you little, but here every bounce can mean another week gone. After registration, the first listing usually comes within days, sometimes a few weeks.

The judges here carry heavy lists, and that shapes the whole hearing day. Routine dates for service, admission and denial of documents, or filing affidavits may take a minute. The case management hearing under Order XVA CPC is different. That's where the timetable for evidence and arguments gets fixed, and it's the date when your lawyer's homework shows. Video appearance is allowed on some dates if the court agrees, but evidence and final arguments are generally in person.

How a commercial suit moves at Tis Hazari, stage by stage

The usual route for a recovery suit between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 crore, in either the Central or West district, looks like this.

1. Fix the district and the value

   List the defendant's addresses, the delivery point, where the order was accepted and where payment was due, then find the police station for each. Add principal and interest to the likely filing date. You want to be sure the claim sits between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 crore.

2. Send a legal notice

   It isn't compulsory. In the wholesale trade, though, a notice often brings a call about settling within a fortnight. Any reply tells you their defence in advance, and it's evidence later.

3. Apply for Section 12A mediation

   Apply to the District Legal Services Authority of the district where you'll file, Central or West. Notices go out and dates are fixed before a mediator. If the other side doesn't come, a non-starter report issues. If talks break down, you get a failure report.

4. Draft the plaint with every document

   The plaint sets out the facts, the territorial basis, the valuation, the court fee and the interest you're claiming. It carries a statement of truth under Order VI Rule 15A and an affidavit of documents under Order XI. Every document in your power goes in at the start.

5. E-file, pay court fee, clear scrutiny

   File electronically in the right district, pay the ad valorem court fee, and cure whatever the scrutiny branch objects to. Then the suit is registered as CS (COMM).

6. First listing and summons

   The District Judge (Commercial Court) checks value, territory and Section 12A compliance, and issues summons. In a summary suit the defendant gets 10 days after service to enter appearance.

7. Written statement, documents, case management

   The defendant has 30 days for its written statement, and never more than 120 days. Both sides admit or deny documents. Issues are framed, and the case management hearing sets the timetable.

8. Evidence, arguments and judgment

   Evidence goes in by affidavit, followed by cross-examination. Written arguments come before oral ones, and judgment is expected within 90 days of arguments closing. A money decree usually carries interest and costs.

Section 12A mediation before a Tis Hazari suit

Before you file, you have to try pre-institution mediation under Section 12A. The one exception is a suit that genuinely needs urgent interim relief. Since Patil Automation v. Rakheja Engineers (2022), the Supreme Court has treated this as mandatory for suits filed from 20 August 2022, and plaints that skipped it have been thrown out under Order VII Rule 11 CPC. Which authority? The District Legal Services Authority of whichever district you'll be filing in, Central or West. Mediate in Central and file in West, and you've given the defendant a free objection.

Mediation runs for three months, extendable by two with consent, and none of that time counts against limitation. Old Delhi buyers, in our experience, tend to ignore the first notice. After the second, somebody from the shop usually turns up offering instalments. Don't brush that off if it comes with post-dated cheques or a written acknowledgment, because either one helps you if the suit has to be filed after all. Skipping mediation on grounds of urgency? Then the urgency has to be visible in the plaint itself, as the Supreme Court explained in Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Keerthi (2023). See our page on mandatory mediation before a commercial suit for the rules.

Time and costs for a Tis Hazari commercial suit

Delhi court fee is worked out on the full value, pre-suit interest included, on a sliding scale. On a claim of several lakh it's a real cost, so factor it in before you decide to sue. Our guide on court fee for a recovery suit in Delhi shows the method. Check the current figure before filing.

Papers a Tis Hazari commercial suit needs

What does a commercial court lawyer near Tis Hazari actually do for you?

An office round the corner is nice to have. It isn't the point. You want someone who lives with the commercial rules week in, week out, and who'll actually be in the courtroom when your item comes up. These rules punish sloppiness. Leave a document out of the plaint and you may never get it on record. A defendant who lets 120 days pass can't file a written statement at all. And the judge expects the case management timetable to hold. In our experience the real harm in a commercial suit is done on the dull dates, the ones nobody prepared for.

From the firm's offices in Dwarka, New Delhi and Vaishali, Ghaziabad, Advocate B.K. Singh and Advocate Sadhna Singh appear in courts across Delhi NCR, including the Delhi district courts at Tis Hazari. Advocate Sadhna Singh runs the day-to-day work on recovery and commercial court files. What does that look like? Someone attends your listings. Someone inspects the court file when an order reads oddly, applies for certified copies, and deals with the filing section and the legal services authority. If you're in Noida, Gurugram or another state, you don't have to come in for routine dates.

Advocate B.K. Singh says the same thing to nearly every Old Delhi client. A lot of trade disputes here get sorted through middlemen and market associations, and in the middle of those talks people send WhatsApp messages and voice notes owning up to the debt. Don't lose them. Export the chat with the date stamps intact, and don't delete a thing. Something as casual as 'payment next week after Diwali' counts as an acknowledgment, which can help on limitation and in a summary suit. Our page for a commercial court lawyer in Delhi explains how the firm takes on matters.

Mistakes we keep seeing in Tis Hazari commercial filings

• Filing in whichever district is nearest your office. Being close isn't jurisdiction. If neither the defendant nor any part of the cause of action is in the Central or West district, the plaint comes back under Order VII Rule 10 CPC, and the time's gone.
• Confusing North with Central. Model Town, Mukherjee Nagar and Burari feel like neighbours. But the first two have been part of the North district, which sits at Rohini. Look at the current police station list before you file.
• Leaning on a kachcha ledger and nothing else. Lots of Old Delhi accounts run on informal books. Judges want GST invoices, e-way bills and bank entries that match the ledger. Without them, it's weak evidence.
• Assuming any shop tenancy is commercial. If the rent is protected under the Delhi Rent Control Act, the commercial court is the wrong place for eviction.
• Adding a token injunction prayer to dodge mediation. A plaint that asks for an injunction just to get around Section 12A is likely to be rejected.
• Letting limitation run out while you talk. The usual limit under the Limitation Act, 1963 is three years from the due date. A written acknowledgment under Section 18, or a part payment under Section 19, restarts it. A spoken promise across the shop counter doesn't.

Sued in a Tis Hazari commercial court?

Your clock started the day the summons was served. Note that date. In a regular commercial suit the written statement is due in 30 days, and while the court can allow more time with costs, it can't go past 120 days from service. Miss that and you've lost the right for good; the Supreme Court said so in SCG Contracts v. K.S. Chamankar (2019). Summary suits move faster still. Ten days to enter appearance. Then, after the summons for judgment arrives, another 10 days to seek leave to defend.

Your written statement has to deal with every allegation and every document, admitting or denying each with reasons. Under the commercial rules, a bare denial can be treated as an admission. Does the plaintiff owe you money too, say for defective goods you sent back or a security deposit it never returned? Plead it as a counter-claim in the same suit. Get your lawyer a complete copy of the plaint and documents in the first week. If the copy served on you is incomplete, ask to inspect the court file at Tis Hazari instead of guessing. Our page on defending a commercial suit sets out the strategy.

After judgment: appeals and execution from Tis Hazari

Lost or won at Tis Hazari, any appeal from the District Judge (Commercial Court) goes to the Delhi High Court's Commercial Appellate Division under Section 13 of the Act. You have 60 days. Interim orders are harder to challenge. Section 8 rules out civil revision against a commercial court's interlocutory orders, which leaves you with an appeal where the law gives one, or, in a narrow class of cases, Article 227 of the Constitution.

You file for execution under Order XXI CPC before the court that passed the decree. With Old Delhi judgment debtors this is frequently where the hard part begins. Stock disappears quickly, and the shop may turn out to be in a relative's name. So ask for attachment of the very bank accounts the buyer paid you from, attachment of what its customers owe it, and an affidavit of assets from the judgment debtor. Debtor moved its business to North or North West Delhi? Our guide on filing at Rohini Court covers that. For defendants in the New Delhi district, read the one on Patiala House Court.

What to do this week

Get the invoices, e-way bills, ledger and bank statements on the table. On a sheet of paper, write four addresses. Their shop or office. Where the goods were dropped. Where the order was accepted, and where you were meant to be paid. Next to each, put the thana. Then add interest to the principal as of today. Those few lines will tell you whether Tis Hazari is the right court, and if so, which of its two districts.

If the last payment or written acknowledgment is close to three years old, don't wait for a better moment. Limitation doesn't pause while you negotiate. If you've been served, count the days from service and get the papers to a lawyer now. To meet us at the Dwarka or Vaishali office, see how to book a consultation. The procedure common to every Delhi district is on the page about Delhi's district commercial courts.

Call or WhatsApp +91 96259 61599, or send your invoices and messages to Advocate B.K. Singh's team through the contact page, and we'll tell you whether your suit belongs at Tis Hazari.