Legal News

Commercial Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018 Cannot Be Applied Retrospectively: Delhi High Court

By - Kshitij Srivastava

The Commercial Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018, cannot be applied retroactively, according to the Delhi High Court.A division bench made up of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad believed that section 19 of the 2018 Amending Act, which expressly states that its provisions will apply to cases relating to commercial disputes filed on or after the date of the Act's commencement, or May 3, 2018, cannot be said to be unclear or ambiguous.

"Furthermore, interpreting the Amending Act to be retrospective in nature will affect the substantive rights of the parties who have already filed their suits in ordinary Civil Courts before the Amending Act was enforced. Holding it otherwise will and also lead to administrative and practical difficulties which cannot be said to be the intention of the Legislature while promulgating the said Amending Act. Had the Legislature intended for the Amending Act to be retrospective in nature, there is nothing that could have prevented the Legislature from explicitly specifying the same," the Court said.