(1) All suits and applications, including applications under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, relating to a commercial dispute of a Specified Value pending in a High Court where a Commercial Division has been constituted, shall be transferred to the Commercial Division.
(2) All suits and applications, including applications under the Arbitration Act, relating to a commercial dispute of a Specified Value pending in any civil court in any district or area in respect of which a Commercial Court has been constituted, shall be transferred to such Commercial Court:
Provided that no suit or application where the final judgment has been reserved by the Court prior to the constitution of the Commercial Division or the Commercial Court shall be transferred either under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2).
(3) Where any suit or application, including an application under the Arbitration Act, stands transferred under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the Commercial Division or Commercial Court may hold case management hearings in respect of such suit or application in order to prescribe new timelines or issue further directions.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 15
Section 15 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 governs the transfer of all pending commercial suits, applications, and arbitration proceedings to newly established Commercial Courts.
Under the proviso to sub-section (2), suits where the final judgment has been reserved prior to the constitution of the Commercial Division or Court are exempt from transfer. Sub-section (3) empowers the Commercial Court to hold a Case Management Hearing upon transfer to prescribe time limits for completion of pleadings, discovery, and trial.
When a suit is transferred under Section 15, the parties cannot demand a de novo trial. The Commercial Court picks up the proceedings from the stage at which they were transferred, holding an immediate Case Management Hearing under Order XV-A CPC to compress further timelines.