Delhi High Court - Orders
Daramic Battery Separator India Pvt. ... vs Union Of India Through: Its Secretary ... on 13 February, 2019
Author: S. Ravindra Bhat
Bench: S. Ravindra Bhat, Prateek Jalan
$~94
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 7857/2018, C.M. Appl. No. 30155-30156/2018
DARAMIC BATTERY SEPARATOR INDIA PVT. LTD..... Petitioner
Through: Mr. Vipul D. Sundriyal, Advocate
versus
UNION OF INDIA THROUGH:
ITS SECRETARY AND ORS. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Vikas Mahajan, CGSC with Mr.
Aakash Varma, Mr. Deepak Goyal,
Advocate for respondent No. 1/UOI
Mr. Somer K. Sethi, Advocate for
DSLSA.
Mr. Gaurav Agrawal, Advocate for
respondent No. 2 and 3.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. RAVINDRA BHAT
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRATEEK JALAN
ORDER
% 13.02.2019 Mr. Mahajan appears on behalf of UOI, and submits that the petitioner's grievance has been redressed.
Learned counsel for the petitioner, however, points out that although the mechanism for pre-litigation mediation in Commercial Suits has now been put in place, the prejudice caused on account of lack of any mechanism, would bar the suit filed by the petitioner Daramic Battery Separator India Pvt. Ltd. This court is of the opinion that since the pre-litigation mediation mechanism was made effective from 27.11.2018, the petitioner ought to have the benefit of Section 14 of the Limitation Act for the suit (which was apparently filed in July 2018 but not entertained). In these circumstances, the petitioner is now granted a week's time to approach the concerned Mediation Centre, in terms of the Rules framed by the Delhi Legal Service Authority, in the Saket District Courts.
For the purposes of Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the limitation period, for the purpose of completing the mediation process would be deemed to begin from the date of application for such pre-litigation mediation.
In the event of failure of mediation and, the petitioner having to file the suit, the period spent between the institution of the suit (i.e. which was originally returned by the Saket Court) till date of institution of the mediation application shall be excluded in terms of Section 14 of the Limitation Act.
List on 26.02.2019.
S. RAVINDRA BHAT, J PRATEEK JALAN, J FEBRUARY 13, 2019 pkb