These notes are written for litigants and for younger members of the Bar. They explain procedure as it operates in the Delhi courts — the sequence of steps, the timelines that matter, and the points at which a matter is commonly lost. They are general information, not advice on any particular case.
Section 8: When a Civil Suit Runs Into an Arbitration Clause
The mandatory reference to arbitration, the first-statement deadline, the prima facie test after the 2015 amendment, non-arbitrable disputes, and suits framed to escape the clause.
Read → 20 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateNo Evidence by the Back Door: SC – Advocate Manish Jha
In Reliance Industries v. NTPC, 2026 INSC 862, the Supreme Court upholds the redaction of evidence affidavits that sought to reintroduce excluded internal documents through oral testimony, with costs of ten lakh rupees.
Read → 20 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateMSME Delayed Payment Recovery – Advocate Manish Jha
The MSMED Act, 2006 caps credit periods at forty-five days, imposes compound interest at three times the bank rate on default, and lets micro and small suppliers refer disputes to the Facilitation Council through the MSME Samadhaan portal.
Read → 20 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateChallenging an MSME Council Award – Advocate Manish Jha
An award of the MSE Facilitation Council can only be challenged under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act, and Section 19 of the MSMED Act bars the court from entertaining the challenge unless the buyer deposits 75 per cent of the awarded amount, part of which may be released to the supplier pending decision.
Read → 20 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporatePre-suit mediation under Section 12A – Advocate Manish Jha
Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act makes pre-institution mediation mandatory for commercial suits that contemplate no urgent interim relief. How the process works, its timelines, and what a settlement is worth.
Read → 20 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateAppointing an Arbitrator: Section 11 – Advocate Manish Jha
How an arbitral tribunal is put in place: the notice under Section 21 that commences proceedings, the agreed appointment procedure, and the court's role under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, with Delhi practice in view.
Read → 20 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateEnforcing Arbitral Awards: Section 36 – Advocate Manish Jha
How a domestic arbitral award is enforced as a decree under Section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — the end of the automatic stay, the conditions on which courts stay money awards, and the mechanics of execution under Order XXI CPC.
Read → 19 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateNo Premium, No Risk: S.64VB Explained – Advocate Manish Jha
Setting aside an NCDRC award of over ₹22 crore in New India Assurance v. Louis Dreyfus Commodities (2026 INSC 876), the Supreme Court held an insurer bears no risk beyond the sum insured unless the additional premium is paid in advance — and neither an official's email nor estoppel can override Section 64VB.
Read → 17 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateObstructing a Trial Has a Price: SC – Advocate Manish Jha
In Reliance Industries Ltd. v. NTPC Ltd. (2026 INSC 862), the Supreme Court held that final evidentiary rulings cannot be reopened through oral testimony, upheld redaction of witness affidavits, and imposed ₹10 lakh costs for two decades of obstruction.
Read → 15 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateCheque Cases and Resigned Directors – Advocate Manish Jha
The Delhi High Court quashed four cheque bounce complaints against a director who had resigned before the cheques were issued, holding that Section 141 NI Act requires specific averments of role and yields to unimpeachable ROC records.
Read → 15 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateGST for Insolvency Professionals – Advocate Manish Jha
A Division Bench held that an advocate acting as an interim resolution professional supplies insolvency and receivership services taxable on forward charge — the reverse charge dispensation covers only legal services rendered as counsel.
Read → 14 August 2026 · Commercial & CorporateSection 34 Is Not an Appeal: DHC – Advocate Manish Jha
Dismissing the Union of India's challenge to an award that quashed a Rs 8.55 crore telecom demand against Sterlite Technologies, the Delhi High Court restated that a plausible arbitral view cannot be substituted under Section 34.
Read →What Is Covered Here
The chamber writes on the areas in which it appears: criminal procedure under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, bail practice, matrimonial and family proceedings before the Delhi Family Courts, cheque dishonour and recovery, and proceedings before the NCLT and the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals. Notes on reported judgments of the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi are published with a link to the official text of the decision, so that a reader can verify the position rather than rely on a summary.
No article on this page identifies a client or discusses a pending matter conducted by the chamber. Where a statutory provision is cited, the section number is given so that a reader can verify it against the bare Act.