In Brief

This Supreme Court judgment establishes that pre-litigation mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 is mandatory for all commercial suits not involving urgent interim relief. The Court rejected the view of some High Courts that treated the requirement as merely directory or that post-litigation mediation cured non-compliance. Drawing parallels to Section 80 CPC and Section 69 of the Partnership Act, the Court held that plaints filed in violation of Section 12A must be rejected under Order VII Rule 11. The power to reject can be exercised suo motu by courts. However, the declaration was made prospectively effective from 20.08.2022 to protect settled transactions, with exceptions for already-rejected plaints and those acted upon by fresh suits. The ruling reflects the legislature's intent to decongest courts and enhance India's ease of doing business through structured pre-litigation dispute resolution.

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