Pre-Institution Mediation Is Mandatory When Plaint Is Filed U/S 12A Of Commercial Courts Act Unless Genuine Urgency Exists: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court held that when a plaint is filed under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the plaintiff cannot bypass the mandatory pre-institution mediation unless the relief sought is urgent. The Court remarked that a commercial suit filed without undergoing pre-institution mediation, in cases where no genuine urgency exists, must be rejected under Order VII Rule 11(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure,1908. After perusing the plaint Justice Ajay Mohan Goel noted that: “……there is no whisper in the application as to what necessitated the plaintiffs to seek urgent relief, by bypassing the statutory provisions of Section 12A of the Act” The plaintiff, Zydus Wellness Products Ltd., filed a commercial suit against the defendant's alleging infringement of its registered trademarks “Glucon-D” and “Glucon-C”, seeking permanent/mandatory injunctions, damages, delivery-up of infringing goods, and urgent interim reliefs.The plaintiff contended that the defendant used similar marks like “Glucose-D, Glucospoon-D, Glucose-C”. Thereafter, the defendants filed an application under Order VII, Rule 11(d) of the CPC, seeking rejection of plaint, on the ground that the plaintiff had bypassed the mandatory pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, which is a condition precedent to filing a commercial suit. The defendant contended that an exception is only given when there is an urgent interim relief and the party has demonstrated it before the Court. Relying on Patil Automation Pvt. Ltd. v. Rakheja Engineers Pvt. Ltd. (2022), Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Keerthi (2024), and M/s Dhanbad Fuels Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India (2025), the Court reiterated that, pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act is mandatory unless there is a genuine urgency that exists, and the reason has been mentioned in the plaint. The High Court noted when a plaint is filed under the Commercial Court Act, with a prayer for urgent interim relief. The Commercial Court should ascertain that the prayer is not a guise to wriggle out of and get over Section 12A of the Act. Noting the facts of this case, the court observed that the Plaintiff was aware of the alleged infringement since April 2023 and had issued multiple cease-and-desist notices. No significant change or urgency arose between April 2023 and the filing of the suit in 2025. Further, the plaintiff, did not mention any reasons in the plaint for seeking urgent relief. Thus, the Court allowed the application filed by the defendants and rejected the plaint. Case Name: Zydus Wellness Products Ltd. v/s Karnal Foods Pack Cluster Limited & Ors. Case No.: OMP No. 644 of 2025 in COMS No.1 of 2025 Date of Decision: 29.08.2025 For the non-applicant/ plaintiff : M/s Guruswamy Natraj, Shradha Karol and Vaibhav Singh Chauhan, Advocates. For the applicant/defendants: Mr. Rajiv Jiwan, Senior Advocate, with M/s Yug Singhal, Prashant Sharma and Aditi Sharma, Advocates, for applicant/ defendant No.2. Mr. Praveen Chandel, Advocate, for defendant No.4. Defendants No.1 & 3 already exparte. Click Here To Read/Download The Order

Pre-Institution Mediation Is Mandatory When Plaint Is Filed U/S 12A Of Commercial Courts Act Unless Genuine Urgency Exists: HP High Court

Mehak Aggarwal

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