Stay updated with key Delhi High Court decisions from 2024—2025, covering the scope and interpretation of the Commercial Courts Act, admissibility of oral tenancy agreements, entitlement in partition suits, and the evolving principles of judicial reasoning including judgment impact and pragmatic discretion
A. Practice and Procedure — Commercial Courts Act, 2015 — S. 12-A — Mandatory requirement of pre-institution mediation — Exception to — Interpretation of words “contemplate any urgent interim relief” under S. 12-A — Held, urgent relief sought was not ruse or guise to bypass statutory mandate of pre-institution mediation — Further held, suit contemplates urgent interim relief — S. 12-A not mandatory in this case — Mandatory spirit of S. 12-A stood complied with [Aaone Developers (P) Ltd. v. Sabita Jha, (2025) 1 HCC (Del) 28]
B. Practice and Procedure — Appreciation of Evidence — Rent Control and Eviction — Tenant claiming oral agreement fixing rent — Admissibility of claim oral agreement as evidence — Evaluation of — Held, admission of execution in written statement sufficient under Ss. 58 and 70, Evidence Act — Oral agreement not proved — Tenancy not protected under Delhi Rent Control Act — Objection to secondary evidence not raised at trial — Cannot be raised in appeal — Appeal dismissed [Ajay Chawla v. Chander Bhan Makker, (2024) 1 HCC(Del) 783]
C. Practice and Procedure — Rendition of Accounts — Suit for partition of joint property by legal heir — Decree for rendition of accounts qua suit properties, from other heirs, after death of owner of property of till disposal of suit — Entitlement to — Held, father of parties died intestate and his property devolved upon all legal heirs equally and they are entitled to equal shares in scheduled properties — Daughter entitled to rendition of account of joint family properties owned by her deceased father which are in possession of her brothers from date of death of father (deceased) [Santosh Yadav v. Jaswant Singh, (2024) 2 HCC (Del) 499]
D. Practice and Procedure — Judgment/Decree/Order/Directions — Judgment Impact — Held, concept of judgment impact one of crucial ingredients while writing judgment — Mandatory direction to another authority may result in practical difficulties [Reshma v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2024) 2 HCC (Del) 1]
E. Practice and Procedure — Judgment/Decree/Order/Directions — Academic Judgment — General Principles — Held, academic judgment should ascertain whether it will invite difficulties in administration of justice, rule of law — Pragmatic approach to be adopted so that judgment does not act as roadblock for law enforcement agencies — Discretion of Judges should be utilised for improving interest of country and community, balancing law and rights of other law enforcement agencies [Reshma v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2024) 2 HCC (Del) 1]
F. Practice and Procedure — Commercial Courts Act, 2015 — S. 2(1)(c)(vi) — Commercial transactions — Jurisdiction of Commercial Courts — Scope of — Held, legislature included various types of commercial transactions to bring under fold of “commercial dispute” — Giving restrictive meaning or reading of clause in isolation would frustrate meaningful definition of commercial dispute by abrogating certain category of transactions from purview of benefit of Commercial Courts Act — If commercial transactions confined to infrastructure contracts only, it would exclude category of “construction contracts” and “construction and infrastructure contracts” from its purview — But that is not intendment of Commercial Courts Act — All types of “commercial transactions” are saved in S. 2(1)(c) of the Commercial Court Act subject to condition that it satisfies “specified value” stipulated under Commercial Court Act for assumption of jurisdiction by Special Court/ commercial court [ABB India Ltd. v. Power Finance Corpn. Ltd., (2024) 3 HCC (Del) 381]
