1. DELHI HC: PRE-INSTITUTION MEDIATION MUST BE INITIATED AGAINST ALL DEFENDANTS BEFORE INSTITUTING A COMMERCIAL SUIT
Summary
BEFORE THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Vcare Infotech Limited v. Check Point Software Technologies & Ors.
CS(COMM) 1047/2025 & I.A. 32566/2025
I.A. 656/2026
Judgment Dated: September 17, 2026
Summary
The Delhi High Court held that pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, is mandatory and must be undertaken against all defendants from whom relief is sought in a commercial suit. The Court held that initiating mediation against an Indian subsidiary does not satisfy the statutory requirement in respect of its foreign parent company, as the two are separate legal entities. Accordingly, the Court rejected the plaint under Order VII Rule 11(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), while granting liberty to the plaintiff to institute a fresh suit after complying with Section 12A