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Supreme Court seeks data to assess need for more commercial courts
The Supreme Court on Monday asked for updated data on pending commercial cases and infrastructure as of January 31, 2026, to assess whether more commercial courts are needed across states. A bench…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Monday asked for updated data on pending commercial cases and infrastructure as of January 31, 2026, to assess whether more commercial courts are needed across states. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said speedy resolution of commercial disputes is integral to ease of doing business.
The court is hearing a petition by the Indian Commercial and Arbitration Bar Association (ICABA) highlighting inadequate commercial courts and appellate benches. The amicus curiae told the bench that data sought in an April 2025 order had not been filed. The CJI noted that requirements vary state-wise, with urban centres seeing more litigation. The court directed parties to collect state-wise data on litigation trends and estimate additional courts needed. The matter will be heard again in two weeks.
The Indian Opinion
The court's push for state-wise data cuts through the usual talk of setting up commercial courts without assessing actual need or infrastructure. Some states may have courts on paper but no trained presiding officers, as the CJI hinted in April. Ease of doing business rankings often ignore such ground realities. The data due in two weeks will show which states have truly prioritised commercial dispute resolution and which have merely made promises.
Sources (2): livelaw.in, barandbench.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
