A Bill seeking to establish separate divisions in high courts for speedy hearing of commercial disputes of Rs 5 crore and above is likely to get Parliament’s nod in the coming monsoon session.
The Commercial Division of High Courts Bill, 2009, is already before Parliament, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said on Wednesday. “They (Parliament) have indicated some changes need to be made. We are making those changes. We will try to get it passed by the next session,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) event here.
The high courts are proposed to have a commercial division for fast-tracking large-value or important public interest matters relating to commercial issues. “There will be a list of areas described as commercial areas that would be taken directly by the high courts. They will have special division called commercial division,” Khurshid informed.
The proposed legislation says disputes involving subject matter worth Rs 5 crore and above would be decided by special division benches of high courts within one year.
The minister noted that economic analysis of law is still in infancy in India. “We have outstanding legal system. The time has come for the economic analysis of law to become a reality in our country,” he added.
Asked about the feasibility of Islamic banking in the country, Khurshid said it was up to the experts to decide on the matter. “It is a good idea,” he said, adding it would help bring in large funds from the Gulf, so as to be used to fund infrastructure development in India. He has already written to the Reserve Bank as well as the finance ministry to look into the feasibility of introducing Islamic banking and finance in the country, Khurshid added.
WIEF secretary-general Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzl Adbul Razak said he met Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was keen to know more about Islamic banking. “We are optimistic that India will come up with a policy decision to enable Islamic Banking in the country,” he told reporters. He said he wanted more Indians to attend the Islamic banking sessions to be held at the WIEF Summit to be held in Malaysia this December.
