UP govt asks district chiefs to speed up setting up of commercial courts

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked civil servants to speed up work to set up commercial courts, aiming to settle commercials disputes quickly as it woos traders before elections next year.

Commercial courts are helmed by judicial officers with experience in commercial and trade matters. Commercial disputes are usually adjudicated by civil courts but cases there can sometimes drag on for years. 

The state government approved commercials courts in 13 districts last year, but the plan lost steam midway. UP chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey on December 24 asked divisional commissioners and district magistrates to speed up the setting up commercial courts by ensuring land for them.

Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Telangana already have commercial courts, and the Bharatiya Janata Party government's aims in following them is crucial to its plan of keeping traders in good humour. On December, it launched a state-wide programme to listen to traders complaints about GST, e-commerce and foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail.