Bombay High Court
UNION OF INDIAversusORTECH ENGINEERING
- Decided
- Disposal
- Dismissed
Holding
The order transferring the arbitration application to the Commercial Court is valid, and the writ petition is dismissed.
Summary
The Union of India filed a writ petition challenging an order dated 8 September 2021 that transferred proceedings of Civil M.A. No.192 of 2018, an application under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, to the Court of Civil Judge Senior Division, Thane. The petitioner argued that the transfer was improper, contending that the dispute’s valuation was below Rs.1,00,00,000/‑ and therefore not within the jurisdiction of a Commercial Court under Section 15 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. The respondent relied on a Government of Maharashtra notification dated 3 July 2019, which appointed certain courts as Commercial Courts and required such transfers. The High Court observed that the notification mandated the transfer despite the valuation, and that the trial court had correctly applied the Commercial Courts Act. Consequently, the petition was dismissed, and the court directed the pending proceedings (renumbered as Civil M.A. No.858 of 2023) to be decided expeditiously.
Issues considered
- What is the correct jurisdiction for an application under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 when the dispute valuation is between Rs.50,00,000 and Rs.1,00,00,000?
- Does the Maharashtra government notification dated 3 July 2019 compel transfer of the proceedings to a Commercial Court notwithstanding the valuation?
- Whether the order transferring the case to the Court of Civil Judge Senior Division, Thane, is legally valid?
Legislation cited
Subjects
- Arbitration
- Section 34
- Commercial Court
- Transfer of jurisdiction
- Valuation of dispute
- Writ petition
Judgment
924-WP-3344-2024.odt
Priyanka
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.3344 OF 2024
Union Of India ...Petitioner
V/s.
Ortech Engineering ...Respondent
_____________________________________________________________
Ms. Vaishali Chaudhari (through V.C.) for the Petitioner.
Mr. Eshaan Saroop i/by Mr. Piyush Pande for the Respondent.
Digitally
PRIYANKA
signed by
PRIYANKA
MADHAVRAO
________________________________________________________
MADHAVRAO KALE
KALE Date:
2026.09.05
12:38:21
+0530
CORAM : PRAFULLA S. KHUBALKAR, J.
DATE : 1ST SEPTEMBER, 2026.
P.C. :-
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned
counsel for the respondent.
2. By this petition, the petitioner has challenged an order dated
8th September, 2021 passed by the Principal District and Sessions
Judge, Thane by which the proceedings of Civil M.A. No.192 of 2018,
which is an application under Section 34 of Arbitration and
Conciliation Act, 1996, is transferred to the Court of Civil Judge
Senior Division, Thane for its decision in accordance with law.
Learned counsel for the respondent points out that, Civil M.A. No.192
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924-WP-3344-2024.odt
of 2018 has been re-numbered as Civil M.A. No. 858 of 2023 after it is
transferred to the Court of Civil Judge, Senior Division, Thane .
3. Although, certain grounds are raised by the petitioner for
challenging the said order, learned counsel for the respondent has
placed on record a notification dated 3 rd July, 2019 issued by
Government of Maharashtra with respect to appointment of Courts to
be the Commercial Court in the State of Maharashtra.
4. It has to be noted that the Trial Court has observed that the
subject value of the dispute is above Rs.50,00,000/- and therefore the
petition is required to be transferred to Commercial Court in terms of
Section 15 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. Documents on record
show that the valuation of the dispute is below Rs.1,00,00,000/-.
5. In view of the above, learned counsel for the petitioner fairly
states that, in view of this notification dated 3rd July, 2019, the
proceedings of Civil M.A. No.192 of 2018 were required to be
transferred to the Court of Civil Judge, Senior Division, Thane as
ordered by the impugned order.
6. Thus, in view of this position which becomes clear from the
notification dated 3rd July, 2019, nothing survives in this instant
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924-WP-3344-2024.odt
Petition and the Writ Petition is accordingly dismissed.
7. In view of the fact that, the proceedings are pending since
2018, it is directed that, the proceedings of Civil M.A. No.858 of 2023
pending before the Court of Civil Judge, Senior Division, Thane be
decided expeditiously.
(PRAFULLA S. KHUBALKAR, J.)
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