JABALPUR, India, Nov. 4 -- Madhya Pradesh High Court issued the following judgment/order on Oct. 7:

1. These petitions impugns orders both dated 26.08.2025, whereby the applications filed by the respective petitioner under Order 7 Rule 10 of the code of civil procedure has been dismissed holding that the subject dispute is a commercial dispute and the plaint is not liable to be returned to be presented before a Non-Commercial Court.

2. These cases have a very chequered history. Petitioners are private limited companies of the same group and had filed three Suits in the year 2012 at the time when the Commercial Court Act had not been enacted. On the enactment of the Commercial Court Act these three Suits were transferred to the Commercial Court on the ground that the dispute was a commercial dispute. These two Suits which are subject matter of these two petitions were dismissed in default however, the third Suit continued. An objection was raised by respondent/defendant therein that the dispute in the subject Suit was not a commercial dispute and as such could not be tried by a Commercial Court. During the pendency of the application by an administrative order by this Court and the Suit was transferred to an ordinary Civil Court. Subsequently by judgment dated 20.12.2022 the third Suit was dismissed by the Civil Court against which an appeal has been filed in the year 2023, which is pending consideration before this Court.

3. In the Suits which were dismissed for non prosecution, petitioners filed application for restoration which was rejected by the then Commercial Court. Appeal against the rejection order was preferred before the Division Bench of the Court. The Appeals were allowed and the Suits were restored. However, instead of the Suits being restored on the record of the Commercial Court the Suits were restored on the record of the Civil Court. Appellant filed an application 2 MP-4989-2025 NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:50446 before the Civil Court for transfer of the Suits to the Commercial Court on the ground that the underlying dispute was a commercial dispute and hence the Suits were liable to be transferred to and tried by a Commercial Court. The Suits were thus transferred to the Commercial Court.

4. Thereafter the Suits continued before the Commercial Court and evidence of the parties have been recorded and now the Suits are at the stage of final arguments. At the stage of final arguments, subject application under Order 7 Rule 10 has been filed by the petitioner contending that the Suits should be transferred to an ordinary Civil Court for the reason that the underlying dispute is not a commercial dispute.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://mphc.gov.in/upload/jabalpur/MPHCJB/2025/MP/4989/MP_4989_2025_FinalOrder_07-10-2025_digi.pdf)

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