Dismissed

S.Sekar and Another v. M/S Aqua World Exports Pvt.Ltd.

Madras HC6 Nov 2023A/3226/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

This application for rejection of plaint was dismissed. The court held that the suit, being a dispute arising from transactions between parties engaged in the same fish trade involving loan recovery, constitutes a commercial dispute under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.

What did the court decide?

Application for rejection of plaint dismissed; matter posted for filing affidavit of admission/denial of documents.

S.Sekar and Another Vs M/S Aqua World Exports Pvt.Ltd. — Arbitration | Madras HC (2023)

¶1

A. No.3226 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm.Div.) No.28 of 2023

¶2

A. No.3226 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm.Div.) No.28 of 2023

¶3

ABDUL QUDDHOSE,J.

¶4

S.Sekar and another

¶5

.. Applicants/defendants

¶6

¶7

M/s.Aqua World Exports (Pvt.) Ltd., represented by its Managing Director S.Haridas

¶8

.. Respondent/plaintiff

¶9

This application has been filed for rejection of plaint on the ground that the dispute is not a commercial dispute, coming within the definition of Section 2(1)(c)(i) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.

¶10

2.The present application has also been filed on the ground that the respondent/plaintiff has fabricated the documents, which according to the applicants/defendants has been admitted in paragraph No.5 of the plaint. The following are the undisputed facts:

¶11

a)The respondent/plaintiff and the applicants/defendants are in the same trade;

¶12

b)The respondent/plaintiff claims that they have been having regular business transactions with the applicants/defendant in respect of fish trade;

¶13

c)The respondent/plaintiff, as seen from the plaint averments, has disclosed that the applicants/defendants regularly borrows money from the respondent/ plaintiff for its fish trade;

¶14

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

¶15

1/6

¶16

A. No.3226 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm.Div.) No.28 of 2023

¶17

d)The respondent/plaintiff has averred in the plaint that the applicants/

¶18

defendants have failed to repay the loan amount given by the respondent/plaintiff and only under those circumstances, the suit has been filed for recovery of money;

¶19

e)The applicants/defendants have already filed their written statement and the suit is ripe for trial.

¶20

3.Learned counsel for the applicants/defendants drew the attention of this Court to the following authorities in support of his submissions that the present suit is not a commercial dispute, coming within the definition of Section 2(1)(c)(i) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015:

¶21

a)A decision of the learned Single Judge of this Court in the case of R.Kumar and another vs. T.A.S.Jawahar Ayya and others reported in 2020 (5) CTC 895;

¶22

b)A decision of the learned Single Judge of the Bomay High Court in the case of Glasswood Realty Pvt. Ltd. and others vs. Chandravilas Kailashkumar Kothari reported in 2021 SCC Online Bombay 5032;

¶23

In particular, he referred to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which is extracted in para No.13 of the Bombay High Court judgment:

¶24

"13.Justice R.Banumathi (as she was then) further highlighted the purpose of the Commercial Courts and the Commercial Division in the following words:

¶25

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

¶26

2/6

¶27

A. No.3226 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm.Div.) No.28 of 2023

¶28

'The object and purpose of the establishment of Commercial Courts, Commercial Divisions and Commercial Appellate Divisions of the High Court is to ensure that the cases involved in commercial disputes are disposed of expeditiously, fairly and at reasonable cost to the litigants. Keeping in view the object and purpose of the establishment of the Commercial Courts and fast tracking procedure provided under the Act, the statutory provisions of the Act and the words incorporated thereon are to be meaningfully interpreted for quick disposal of commercial litigations so as to benefit the litigants especially those who are engaged in trade and commerc which in turn will further economic growth of the country.' "

¶29

4.On the contrary, learned counsel for the respondent/plaintiff would reiterate the contents of the counter filed in this application and would also submit that since the written statement has already been filed, the question of entertaining this application at this stage by this Court will not arise.

¶30

5.As seen from the undisputed facts, the respondent/plaintiff and the applicants/defendants are in the fish trade. The respondent/plaintiff has made a specific averment in the plaint that the applicants/defendants have been regularly borrowing money from the respondent/plaintiff for the purpose of their business. Though the learned counsel for the applicants/defendants would submit that

¶31

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 3/6

¶32

A. No.3226 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm.Div.) No.28 of 2023

¶33

unless and until there are mercantile documents in support of the respondent/

¶34

plaintiff's claim, the question of entertaining the suit as a Commercial dispute will

¶35

not arise. The said contention has to be rejected for the following reasons:

¶36

a)The respondent/plaintiff and the applicants/defendants are in the very same fish trade. Both of them were having regular business transactions earlier and one such transaction is the present one, which has culminated into the present suit;

¶37

b)The respondent/plaintiff claims that the applicants/defendants have borrowed money from the respondent/plaintiff, which has not been repaid and the same is denied by the applicants/defendants;

¶38

c)The decisions, relied upon by the learned counsel for the applicants/ defendants, as referred to supra, have no bearing for the facts of the instant case.

¶39

6.Insofar as the decision rendered by the Single Judge of this Court in the case of R.Kumar and another vs. T.A.S.Jawahar Ayya and others reported in 2020 (5) CTC 895, referred to supra is concerned, the dispute was between two individuals, whereas it is not so in the case on hand. Infact, in the said decision, it has been made clear that as per the definition of Section 2(1)(c)(i), any ordinatry transaction of Merchants, Bankers, Financiers and Traders would constitute a commercial dispute. In the case on hand, both the respondent/plaintiff and the

¶40

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

¶41

4/6

¶42

A. No.3226 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm.Div.) No.28 of 2023

¶43

applicants/defendants are trading in fish and they were having regular business transactions.

¶44

7.Therefore, necessarily the present dispute, which has culminated into the filing of the commercial suit, will certainly come within the definition of Section 2(1)(c)(i) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and therefore, this Court under the Commercial Division is entitled to entertain the suit. The object of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 is for earlier adjudication of commercial disputes. The extract of the Hon'ble Supreme Court found in the judgment of the learned Single Judge of the Bombay High Court, relied upon by the learned counsel for the applicants/defendants in the case of Glasswood Realty Pvt. Ltd. and others vs. Chandravilas Kailashkumar Kothari reported in 2021 SCC Online Bombay 5032 also makes the objects of the Commercial Courts Act clear.

¶45

8.Being a Commercial dispute, as oberved earlier, the present suit has to be necessarily entertained only by this Court i.e., the Commercial Division. Further the pleadings have already been completed in the suit as the applicants/defendants have already filed their written statement and once issues are framed and Case Management Schedule is fixed, the parties can go for trial under the Commercial

¶46

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

¶47

5/6

¶48

A. No.3226 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm.Div.) No.28 of 2023

¶49

ABDUL QUDDHOSE,J.

¶50

vga

¶51

Courts Act and strict timelines will be fixed for the early disposal of the suit. Therefore, the interest of the applicants/defendants will also be protected if they are directed to go for trial and the defence raised in this application can very well be adjudicated in the main suit. The plaint averments also disclose the suit as commercial dispute. Any rejection of plaint application is adjudicated only based on plaint averments.

¶52

9.For the foregoing reasons, there is no merit in this application. This application is dismissed. Post the matter on 17.11.2023 for filing of affidavit of admission/denial of documents.

¶53

06.11.2023

¶54

vga

¶55

A. No.3226 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm.Div.) No.28 of 2023

¶56

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

¶57

6/6