In short. Filing a commercial suit in Delhi follows a fixed order. First make sure the dispute is commercial and worth Rs 3 lakh or more. Send a legal notice. Go through Section 12A mediation, unless you really need urgent relief from the court. Then pick the right court and district, draft the plaint with a statement of truth and every document you have, pay the court fee and e-file. If your papers are in good shape, you'll usually reach a first hearing two to five months after the notice. This guide is for business owners and finance teams who are getting ready to sue.
Is this your situation?
- A customer or distributor owes you more than Rs 3 lakh, and for weeks now nobody on their side picks up the phone.
- You've sent reminder after reminder, maybe a legal notice too, and you want to know exactly how a suit gets filed in Delhi.
- One person told you a claim your size goes to the High Court. Someone else said Tis Hazari. You don't know who's right.
- Your CA wants to know who signs the suit papers: you as proprietor, a partner, or a director with a board resolution.
- You'd like to know what actually happens between filing and the first hearing.
- The oldest unpaid invoice is close to three years old. You can't afford to lose another month.
The short version: how a commercial suit gets filed in Delhi
Most of the work in a commercial suit happens before the court sees anything. That surprises people. You first check that the dispute is commercial and that it's worth at least Rs 3 lakh. You sort out the papers and send a legal notice. Then you apply for pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, unless the case really does need urgent interim relief. You pick the court, by value and by territory. Only then is the plaint drafted, verified with a statement of truth, put together with every relevant document and e-filed with the court fee.
After filing, the registry goes through the papers, the suit gets registered and listed, and the court sends summons to the defendant. The defendant gets 30 days for a written statement. That can stretch. It can't go beyond 120 days from service. From there it's documents, case management, evidence and arguments.
Commercial procedure is stricter than an ordinary civil suit. Deadlines are fixed. Documents go on record at the start, not halfway through, and delay costs money. In our experience a business that does the groundwork before filing moves faster afterwards. The steps below are in the order we actually work a file.
First question: is this a commercial dispute at all?
Section 2(1)(c) of the Commercial Courts Act sets out which disputes count as commercial. The list is long. It covers ordinary dealings of merchants, bankers, financiers and traders, export and import of goods and services, carriage of goods, construction and infrastructure contracts, agreements about immovable property used only for trade or business, franchising, distribution and licensing, partnership and shareholder agreements, joint ventures, insurance, technology development and consultancy, and intellectual property, along with others. What does that look like in real life? An unpaid invoice for goods or services. A loan from one business to another. A fight over a shop let out purely for business, or someone copying your brand. These are all typical commercial suits.
Then the money test. The specified value has to be Rs 3 lakh or more under Section 2(1)(i), calculated the way Section 12 says. For a money claim, that's what you're claiming plus interest up to the day you file. Below Rs 3 lakh, a business dispute goes to the ordinary civil court, which runs on a different procedure.
Two more checks before you spend money on drafting. Look for an arbitration clause in the contract. If there's one, the defendant can ask the court to send the whole thing to arbitration, so your first move may be a notice invoking arbitration and not a suit. And look at your own registration. A registered micro or small enterprise can also go to the MSME Facilitation Council under Section 18 of the MSMED Act, 2006, and it's worth comparing the two routes before you pick one.
Step by step: how we take a commercial suit to filing in Delhi
This is the usual order for a business that's suing. A few steps run side by side. Some can't be skipped at all.
Get the papers together and make them agree
Pull out the contract or purchase orders, invoices, delivery or completion proof, the ledger, bank statements, emails and WhatsApp chats. Reconcile the account until there's one figure that every document backs up. You'll also find the papers that hurt you at this stage. They'll have to be disclosed anyway, so it's better you see them first.
Work out limitation
Most money claims have to be filed within three years under the Limitation Act, 1963, and the clock runs invoice by invoice from each due date. A written acknowledgment signed before time runs out, or a part payment, starts a fresh period under Sections 18 and 19. Find your earliest deadline now. It sets the pace for everything else.
Send the legal notice
No law makes a notice compulsory before a commercial suit. We'd still send one. It pins down your claim, gives the debtor one last chance and often drags the defence out early. Make sure it matches your ledger, and send it in a way that gives you proof of delivery.
Decide which procedure fits
See whether the claim can go as a summary suit under Order XXXVII, which is open for written contracts, cheques, promissory notes and liquidated debts. If it can't, you're looking at an ordinary commercial suit. Decide at the same time whether you truly need urgent interim relief, because that changes the mediation position.
Go through Section 12A mediation
Apply to the legal services authority for pre-institution mediation. It runs up to three months, and both sides can agree to two more. You'll come out with either a settlement, which can be enforced like an arbitral award, or a non-starter or failure report that's filed with the plaint.
Choose the court and the district
Value fixes the level. Up to Rs 2 crore it's the District Judge (Commercial Court). Above Rs 2 crore it's the Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court, unless the limit has changed by the time you file. Territory, under Section 20 of the CPC, fixes the district.
Draft the plaint and the papers that go with it
The plaint covers the facts, the claim, interest, jurisdiction, valuation, limitation and where mediation stands. It needs a statement of truth under Order VI Rule 15A and an affidavit of documents under Order XI. Any application for interim relief or exemption is filed along with it.
Put the filing set together and get it signed
Arrange the documents in order and scan them as searchable PDFs. Prepare the Section 63 certificate for electronic records. Then the authorised person signs the plaint, statement of truth, affidavits and vakalatnama. Don't leave signatures for the last evening.
Pay the court fee and e-file
Pay the ad valorem court fee online as e-court fee, link it to the filing, and upload the paper book on the e-filing portal of the court concerned. Write down the filing number.
Clear objections and attend the first listing
The registry checks the papers and raises objections, and they've to be cured within the time given. After that the suit is registered and listed. The court issues summons to the defendant and takes up any interim application.
Portal format rules, file sizes and the 4 pm filing cut-off are in our separate guide on e-filing a commercial suit in Delhi.
What a commercial plaint has to contain
Order VII Rule 1 of the CPC gives the basic contents of every plaint. The court's name. The names and addresses of the parties. The facts making up the cause of action and when it arose, the facts showing why this court has jurisdiction, the relief you want, and the value for jurisdiction and court fee. A commercial plaint needs more. It has to say whether pre-institution mediation took place and how it ended, or why you're asking for urgent interim relief without it. It carries a statement of truth in the commercial form, signed by someone who actually knows the facts. And it comes with a list of documents and an affidavit of documents under Order XI, declaring that every relevant document in the plaintiff's power, possession, control or custody has been disclosed.
Spend time on the relief paragraph. A normal money claim asks for the principal, interest up to filing at the contract rate or a reasonable commercial rate, interest during the suit and after decree under Section 34 of the CPC, and costs. If you're a registered micro or small supplier, Sections 15 to 17 of the MSMED Act, 2006 let you claim interest at three times the RBI bank rate. Each head needs a document or a clear calculation annexed to the plaint. No exceptions.
Advocate B.K. Singh doesn't start drafting from the client's story. He first builds a list of dates from the documents alone: order, delivery, invoice, due date, reminder, acknowledgment, part payment, notice, mediation. The plaint is written from that list. Every pleaded fact stays tied to a piece of paper. It also shows straight away if a limitation date or an interest period has been counted wrong. There's more on the plaint and statement of truth on our page about drafting a commercial suit.
What goes into the paper book
The pleadings and affidavits
- The plaint, with its valuation, jurisdiction, limitation and mediation paragraphs
- Statement of truth under Order VI Rule 15A
- List of documents, plus the affidavit of documents under Order XI
- Any interim application, each one with its own supporting affidavit
- Memo of parties giving everyone's address, email ID and mobile number
Papers that prove the claim
- The contract, or the purchase or work orders, with any changes made later
- Invoices, along with delivery challans, e-way bills or completion certificates
- Ledger or statement of account, signed by whoever heads your accounts
- Bank statements showing what they've paid so far
- Emails, letters, acknowledgments and any balance confirmation they signed
- Your legal notice, proof it was delivered, and their reply if one came
Authority, mediation and filing extras
- Board resolution, the partners' authority, or simply the proprietor's own signature
- Vakalatnama with the Delhi welfare stamp on it
- The Section 12A settlement, or the non-starter or failure report
- Certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 for WhatsApp, email and other electronic records
- E-court fee receipt, linked to the filing
- Udyam registration, if you're claiming MSMED Act interest
Where Section 12A mediation sits in the timeline
For most commercial suits, mediation comes after the legal notice and before the plaint. You apply in the prescribed form to the legal services authority that has jurisdiction and pay the application fee. If both sides take part, you also share a one-time mediation fee fixed by the value of the claim. The authority sends notice to the other side. If they don't respond, or refuse to come, a non-starter report is recorded and you're free to file. If both sides do take part, it can run up to three months, with two more if both agree.
The Supreme Court made this step mandatory for suits filed from 20 August 2022, in Patil Automation v. Rakheja Engineers (2022). Plaints filed without it have since been rejected under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC. The urgent-relief exception is judged from the plaint itself, as the Supreme Court explained in Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Keerthi (2023). Mediation time is left out when limitation is counted. So a claim close to three years isn't lost just because you mediated, as long as you applied in time.
Don't sit idle while it runs. Finish the plaint, the document set and the authorisations during those weeks, and you can e-file within days of getting the report. The exceptions are covered in our guide on whether mediation is compulsory before a commercial suit.
Which court in Delhi, and which district?
Two tests decide this. Value comes first. In Delhi, a commercial suit worth up to Rs 2 crore is filed before the District Judge (Commercial Court). Above Rs 2 crore, it goes to the Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court on its original side. Interest up to filing counts towards the value. In July 2026 the Full Court of the High Court recommended raising the district limit to Rs 10 crore. That needs a change in the law, so check the current limit before you file. How the High Court route works is in our guide on which court hears a commercial dispute above Rs 2 crore.
Then territory. Section 20 of the CPC lets you sue where the defendant lives or carries on business, or where the cause of action arose, wholly or in part. That can be where the contract was made, where goods were delivered or where payment was due. If any of these is in Delhi, a Delhi court can usually hear you. The same facts then point to one district, and each district's commercial courts sit in its own complex: Tis Hazari, Saket, Karkardooma, Patiala House, Rohini, Dwarka or Rouse Avenue. Our guide to commercial courts in all Delhi district court complexes has the full list.
Read the contract's jurisdiction clause as well. If it gives exclusive jurisdiction to another city whose courts also have jurisdiction, you follow it. And if the defendant and the whole deal sit in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram or Faridabad, the suit goes to the court designated as Commercial Court for that district. Not Delhi.
Who signs for a company, a firm or a proprietorship?
A company sues in its own name, through a director or officer authorised by a board resolution. That resolution should let the person sign and verify the plaint and statement of truth, sign the vakalatnama, give evidence and settle the case if it comes to that. A general power of attorney sometimes works. A specific resolution is safer. It shuts down any argument that the suit wasn't properly instituted.
A partnership firm sues in the firm's name, and a partner signs the plaint. There's one trap. Under Section 69(2) of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, an unregistered firm can't sue a third party to enforce a right under a contract. So check the registration with the Registrar of Firms before filing, and check that the signing partner actually appears in the register. An LLP sues in its own name, through a designated partner or another authorised person.
A proprietorship isn't a separate legal person. The proprietor sues in his or her own name, trading as the business. We've a separate guide on whether a proprietorship firm can file a commercial suit, which deals with the wording. Whoever signs the statement of truth must know the facts, or must sign on the basis of records and say so plainly. Advocate B.K. Singh asks for the authorisation to name this particular suit and this defendant, not litigation in general. A vague resolution invites a preliminary objection. That can eat the first few hearings.
What the registry does once you've filed
Commercial suits in Delhi are now filed online, on the e-filing portal of the court concerned. Once you upload, the filing gets a number and goes to the registry for scrutiny. They'll check that the court fee matches the valuation. They'll also check that the statement of truth and affidavits are signed and attested, that the mediation report or urgency application is on file, that documents are legible and bookmarked to match the index, and that the memo of parties is complete.
Anything wrong comes back as an objection. Most are small: a missing page number, a scan nobody can read. You fix them by refiling the corrected papers. Don't let objections sit. A court can dismiss a matter for non-removal of objections, and where limitation is tight, a long gap between the first upload and the corrected refiling gives the defendant a point to argue about when the suit was really instituted.
When the objections are cleared, the suit is registered as a commercial suit and listed. In the Delhi High Court it gets a CS(COMM) number. If it's urgent, counsel can mention it for early listing under the court's practice directions.
The first hearing, and what follows
On the first date the judge reads the plaint, checks jurisdiction and the mediation position, and issues summons to the defendant along with a copy of the plaint and documents. Service by email and courier can be allowed alongside post. That saves weeks. If you've filed an interim application, the court decides whether to issue notice on it, pass an interim order or refuse. There's more detail in our guide on what happens at the first hearing of a commercial suit.
Once served, the defendant has 30 days to file a written statement. The court can extend that, usually with costs, but 120 days from service is the outer limit. You may then file a replication. Both sides admit or deny each other's documents on affidavit under Order XI. Next comes a case management hearing under Order XV-A, where the court frames issues and fixes a timetable for evidence and arguments. Our guide on the case management hearing under Order XV-A walks through it.
Evidence-in-chief is on affidavit, then cross-examination. Written arguments come before oral ones. Judgment is to be pronounced within 90 days of arguments closing. There's also a shortcut. After service and before issues are framed, either side can apply for summary judgment under Order XIII-A if the other side's case has no real prospect of success.
How long each stage takes, and what it costs apart from fees
| Stage | Usual time (not a promise) | Spending apart from lawyer fees |
|---|---|---|
| Getting the papers together and reconciled | 1 to 3 weeks, depending on how tidy the records are | Your staff's time; scanning |
| Legal notice and the reply period | 15 to 30 days, whatever the notice gives | Courier or registered post |
| Section 12A mediation | Up to 3 months, plus 2 more if both agree; a non-starter report can come earlier | Rs 1,000 application fee and your share of the slab mediation fee; check the current schedule |
| Drafting the plaint and affidavits | 1 to 3 weeks, often done while mediation runs | Getting affidavits attested |
| Court fee and e-filing | A day | Ad valorem court fee on the Delhi schedule, a little under 1 percent for most commercial claims; check the current figure |
| Registry scrutiny and objections | A few days to 3 weeks | Nothing beyond refiling |
| First listing and summons | Usually a few weeks after objections are cleared | Process fee for each defendant |
| Written statement and replication | 30 days, at most 120 days from service, then your replication | Nothing for you; a late defendant pays costs |
| Documents, issues and case management | 2 to 6 months | Copies and translations |
| Evidence, arguments and judgment | Often 1 to 2 years if contested; judgment within 90 days of arguments | Witness expenses, a Local Commissioner fee in the High Court, certified copies |
Summary suit or ordinary suit? Decide before drafting
The procedure shapes the whole plaint, so settle it early. A summary suit under Order XXXVII of the CPC is open where the claim rests on a written contract, a bill of exchange, a cheque, a promissory note, or a debt or liquidated demand. The defendant has to enter appearance within 10 days of service. After you serve summons for judgment, it gets another 10 days to apply for leave to defend. No leave, and you're entitled to a decree. The Supreme Court laid down the tests for leave in IDBI Trusteeship v. Hubtown (2016).
The ordinary commercial suit is for claims that turn on disputed facts. Quality complaints. Delay. Damages, unsigned rate revisions, or a bit of everything mixed together. Even then, if your documents are strong, an application for summary judgment under Order XIII-A after service can cut the case short.
A summary suit plaint has to say in terms that it's filed under Order XXXVII and that it claims nothing outside that order. You can't casually switch later. That's why the choice is made at the drafting table.
When you can't wait: filing with an urgent interim application
Some cases can't wait for mediation. A former distributor is still selling under your brand. A buyer is about to sell goods it never paid for. Someone is wrongly invoking a bank guarantee, or a debtor is openly moving assets out. Here the suit goes in straight away with an application for a temporary injunction under Order XXXIX, attachment before judgment under Order XXXVIII Rule 5, or a receiver under Order XL. The plaint has to prove the urgency with facts and documents. The court will test it, and a bare claim that the matter is urgent won't get you far.
If the defendant has a caveat on file under Section 148A of the CPC, you must serve the caveator in advance, before the court takes up your application. If you get an ex parte order, Order XXXIX Rule 3 requires you to send the defendant the application, plaint and documents immediately and file an affidavit saying you've done so. Plaintiffs who forget can lose the order. What courts expect is set out on our page on urgent injunctions.
An invented example: an interiors contractor files in the New Delhi district
This one is made up. An interior fit-out contractor from Lajpat Nagar finishes three outlets for a restaurant chain headquartered in Connaught Place. The work orders were signed at that head office. Rs 1.02 crore in running bills stays unpaid once the chain starts making vague complaints about the finishing. The work orders provide 12 percent yearly interest on late payment. And the chain's project head has signed completion certificates for two of the three outlets.
Weeks 1 to 3: the contractor's accountant reconciles the account, the lawyer checks limitation (the oldest bill is 20 months overdue), and a legal notice goes out. Week 4: the contractor applies for Section 12A mediation to the legal services authority for the New Delhi district. The chain turns up twice. It offers Rs 40 lakh. About ten weeks later the mediation ends in a failure report. Meanwhile the plaint is being drafted as an ordinary commercial suit, not a summary suit, because the finishing complaints will need evidence. With interest to the filing date the claim comes to about Rs 1.18 crore, comfortably under the district limit.
Week 15: the suit is e-filed before the District Judge (Commercial Court) at Patiala House. It goes with a board resolution, statement of truth, Order XI affidavit, photos of the finished outlets backed by a Section 63 certificate, and e-court fee of about Rs 1.17 lakh. The registry objects once, to an annexure that isn't bookmarked. That's fixed in two days. Summons go out at the first listing the following week. None of this happened, and a real case could turn differently at any point.
How filing changes for MSMEs, startups, lenders and businesses outside Delhi
MSME suppliers should first decide between a suit and the MSME Facilitation Council. If it's a suit, attach the Udyam registration and plead the MSMED Act interest as a separate head. Startups and service firms mostly prove their case through emails, project tools and chats. Get the export of those records and the Section 63 certificate ready before drafting starts. Not after.
If you gave an inter-corporate loan or an advance, see whether your papers support a summary suit. A signed loan agreement, an acknowledgment or a post-dated cheque often will. Businesses in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram or Faridabad can sue in Delhi where the defendant is in Delhi or part of the cause of action arose here. They'll use the Delhi portal and the Delhi court fee schedule, and their witnesses will have to come to Delhi for evidence. Large companies with thousands of invoices should agree a document index early on. Otherwise the Order XI disclosure ends up with holes in it, and someone rebuilds the paper book the night before filing.
Small firm or large, the usual filing errors don't change much. We've collected them in our guide on the mistakes businesses make in commercial court cases.
What you can do this week
Put everything about the unpaid account into one folder: contract or orders, invoices, delivery proof, ledger, bank entries, emails and chats. Find the oldest unpaid invoice and the most recent written acknowledgment or part payment. Note the date three years on from each. Read the contract for the interest, jurisdiction and arbitration clauses. If no notice has gone out, send one. If it has, apply for Section 12A mediation now and start drafting while it runs. What we prepare at that stage is on our commercial suit drafting page, and the money recovery suit page covers the wider recovery route.
Want your papers looked at before the notice goes out or before you file? Or a note when Delhi's commercial court rules change? You can reach Advocate B.K. Singh's team through the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file a commercial suit in Delhi without a lawyer?
Yes. You can file in person, and the e-filing portal lets you register as a party in person with an identity document. A company acts through an authorised officer holding a board resolution. But valuation, jurisdiction, disclosure and the statement of truth are easy to get wrong. That's why most businesses use counsel.
How long after a legal notice can I file a commercial suit?
Usually two to five months. Most of that is Section 12A mediation, which can run three months and be extended by two. Drafting can happen alongside it. If you genuinely need urgent interim relief, the suit can go in within days.
Do I have to send a legal notice before a commercial suit?
No statute makes it compulsory for an ordinary commercial suit between private parties. We'd still send one. It fixes your claim and often brings either payment or an early defence. Suing the government is different: you need a notice under Section 80 of the CPC.
What's the minimum claim for a commercial suit?
Rs 3 lakh, counting interest up to the date of filing. Below that, a business dispute goes to the ordinary civil court.
Can an unregistered partnership firm file a commercial suit?
Not to enforce a contract against an outsider. Section 69(2) of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 bars unregistered firms from such suits. Get the firm registered, and check the partners are correctly recorded, before you file.
Do I file original documents with the plaint?
No. With e-filing you upload scans and keep the originals safe. The court can call for them for inspection, and you'll produce them at the admission and denial stage or during evidence. Don't hand originals to anyone unless the court tells you to.
What if I find more documents after filing the suit?
Under Order XI as amended for commercial suits, you can rely on documents not disclosed with the plaint only with the court's leave, and only if you show reasonable cause. File the application as soon as you find them and explain why they weren't available earlier.
Can I sue a company from another state in a Delhi court?
Yes, if a Delhi court has territorial jurisdiction. It will if, say, the contract was made in Delhi, goods were delivered here, payment was due here, or the company has a branch here connected to the dispute. Summons can be served in any state.
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M. More than twenty years in practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, district and commercial courts in Delhi NCR, and tribunals.
This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice. For advice on your own papers, contact the team.