Pre-mediation process mandatory in commercial cases, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the pre-mediation process in commercial cases is mandatory and suits not complying with this provision would be rejected.

A Bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, in Patil Automation Pvt Ltd vs Rakhija Engineers, held that not complying with the mediation stage would defeat the purpose of the Commercial Courts Act 2015.

“We hold that any suit instituted violating the mandate of Section 12A (pre-mediation) must be visited with the rejection of the plaint. We, however, make this declaration effective from August 20 so that concerned stakeholders become sufficiently informed,” the court