(1) Where the subject-matter of an arbitration is a commercial dispute of a Specified Value, all applications or appeals arising out of such arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 that would ordinarily lie before any principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction in a district shall be heard and disposed of by the Commercial Court.
(2) Where the subject-matter of an arbitration is a commercial dispute of a Specified Value and the arbitration is an international commercial arbitration, all applications or appeals arising out of such arbitration under the Arbitration Act that would ordinarily lie before the High Court shall be heard and disposed of by the Commercial Division of the High Court.
(3) Where such applications or appeals arise out of arbitration other than international commercial arbitration in a High Court having ordinary original civil jurisdiction, they shall be heard and disposed of by the Commercial Division.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 10
Section 10 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 regulates the jurisdiction of Commercial Courts and Commercial Divisions in respect of commercial arbitration matters arising under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
Under sub-section (2), where the arbitration is a domestic commercial arbitration of Specified Value, all applications (including Section 9 interim measures, Section 34 annulment petitions, and Section 36 execution) are heard exclusively by the Commercial Court or Commercial Division.
Sub-section (3) addresses situations where applications arise out of domestic arbitrations not involving international commercial arbitration, directing them to the competent Commercial Court at the district level. This consolidates all arbitration-related judicial scrutiny into specialized commercial benches.
Section 10 harmonizes the Commercial Courts Act with the Arbitration Act. Practitioners must note that Section 10 is purely jurisdictional; it does not introduce new statutory remedies. For instance, an appeal under Section 13 from an arbitration order is maintainable only if that order is appealable under Section 37 of the Arbitration Act.