Mumbai: The industry department has asked the law ministry to bring an ordinance to allow the government to open fast-track commercial courts in Delhi and Mumbai to improve India’s record in enforcing contracts. The move is aimed at improving India’s ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business report. India ranks 172 out of 190 countries under the “enforcing contracts” indicator in the latest report.
Parliament enacted the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act in December 2015 for speedy and time-bound disposal of commercial disputes. The commercial courts are to be constituted at the district level by state governments after consultation with the high court concerned. However, the law provided that no commercial court will be constituted for the territory over which high courts have exclusive civil jurisdiction to hear commercial matters, such as in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, which were presidencies or special administrative divisions during the British rule.