COMMERCIAL COURTS OR E-COMMERCIAL COURTS?? 

As part of improving the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in India, the Government approved for setting up of commercial benches in select High Courts to deal with high value business disputes. All pending suits and applications relating to commercial disputes involving a claim of Rs One Crore and above in the high courts and civil courts [now reduced to Rs. Three Lakhs] would be transferred to the relevant Commercial Division or Commercial Court as the case may be.

Commercial Divisions are set up in those High Courts which are already exercising ordinary original civil jurisdiction such as Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, and Himachal Pradesh high courts. Commercial Divisions will exercise jurisdiction over all cases and applications relating to commercial disputes. The Commercial Division shall have territorial jurisdiction over such area on which it has original jurisdiction.

According to the Law Ministry proposal, Commercial Courts which will be equivalent to district courts are to be set up in states and UTs where the High Courts do not have ordinary original civil jurisdiction, and in states where the High Court has original jurisdiction, in respect of those regions to which the original jurisdiction of a High Court does not extend. But Commercial Divisions or Commercial Courts will not have jurisdiction in matters relating to commercial dispute, where the jurisdiction of the civil court has been either expressly or impliedly barred under law. Commercial dispute has been defined broadly to mean dispute arising out of ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers and traders such as those relating to mercantile documents; joint venture and partnership agreements; intellectual property rights; insurance and other areas.

As part of further improving the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) e-Commercial Courts have been set up in the states of Andra Pradesh and Telangana. The entire process of filing of the Petition and uploading of documents, registering and payment of court fee upto the issuance of summons have been made possible through web portal and online. The process of e-filing is as enumerated:

• e-Filing of petitions in the Commercial Court fulfils the requirements of a paperless court where supportive documents along with the petition filed in digitized manner. The litigant need not to personally visit the court just to a file a case in the commercial court.
• Court fee is calculated automatically based on Case types associated Acts and related sections chosen in the e-filed petition and can be paid through online and offline mode. 
• Online service of petition to concerned respondents by petitioner.
• A petition can be e-filed 24*7 basis anywhere in India and abroad.
• The web-based software module provided with self-explanatory templates where data related to petition could be filled in and a petition could be prepared in number of rounds.
• User specific dash board is provided where the use can track latest status of petitions filed by him/her in a commercial court.
• Online messages and e-mails provision when status of petition is updated in the Registry of the Court.
• Online Service of Digitally Signed Court Summons to Respondents/Petitioners through secured e-mails

Useful Links: http://e-commcourt.gov.in/

https://ts.e-commcourt.gov.in/mainPage.drt

https://ap.e-commcourt.gov.in/mainPage.drt