Time taken to resolve commercial cases in India down nearly 50%: Report

Even though India's overall ranking in 'Ease of doing business' had improved from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2020, on the 'enforcement of contracts' it improved marginally from 186 in 2014 to 163 in 2020

The average time courts take to dispose of a commercial case has reduced from 1,445 days in 2020 to 626 days in 2022--a 50 per cent improvement, said a media report on Monday citing Law Ministry data.

Such cases have some transaction or trade involved. "Commercial suits include suit arising out of the ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers and traders; and amongst others those relating to the construction of mercantile documents, export or import of merchandise, affraightment, carriage of goods by land, sea or air insurance, banking and mercantile agency and mercantile usages," says the Delhi High Court website.

The enforcement of contracts via dispute resolution was a major drag on India's ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index. Even though India's overall ranking had improved from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2020, the country’s 'enforcement of contracts' improved marginally from 186 in 2014 to 163 in 2020.

Dispute resolution for commercial cases in the country is quickest in Mumbai, said the Times of India (TOI). It takes 626 days on average for any such case to be resolved. In New Delhi, the average time period is 744 days. These also include the time taken for the execution of the judgment.

The law ministry data further showed that the trial of cases now happens within 306 days, on average. This was 1,095 days in 2020. The average time to file a case and serve the summons has also been reduced from 45 days to 15 days, the TOI report added.

Several district-level commercial courts have been established since 2014 in India. Among other things, several legislative reforms were taken including Goods and Services Tax (GST), 100 per cent online assessment of the Income Tax cases, automated e-way bills etc.

The judges now get indicator lights on their logbooks. The delay or any breach of rules is indicated by the lights, said TOI. Judges are not allowed to adjourn a case more than three times. If they do so, they are shown a red light. For the first and second adjournment, the light shows green and yellow colours, respectively.

The performance of the judges is recorded and used during their evaluation for promotion to a superior court, the TOI report added.