HC order to transfer cases below Rs one crore challenged

The Delhi High Court today sought its registry response on a petition seeking quashing of its office order directing transfer of all pending cases up to the value of Rs 1 crore to subordinate courts.
A bench of justices G S Sistani and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal asked the lawyer appearing for the high court registry to take instructions on the plea by Asian Patent Association which has challenged the November 24 office order by which the cases were to be transferred.
According to the office order, even cases whose value was more than Rs 1 crore but less than Rs 2 crore and which were not commercial disputes were also to be transferred to the jurisdictional subordinate courts.

Cases in which final judgments have been reserved have been exempted from transfer.
The association, represented by senior advocate Pratibha M Singh, told the court that suits under the Patents Act, Designs Act, Copyright Act and Trademarks Act never mentioned the specific value of the intangible assets (patents, trademarks) and only an amount sought as relief was mentioned.
It said that "relief" was different from the "specified value" and has added that the registry cannot compute the specified value.

Terming the office order as "illegal and arbitrary", the association has also sought stay of transfer of cases which fall under the category of intellectual property rights (IPR).

Singh told the court that the cases pending in high court also include those where judgement has been reserved in the interlocutory stage, where trial has commenced and/or evidence was being recorded, where evidence has concluded and where issues have been framed.
Apart from these, there were cases under special statutes, like trademarks and copyright, which have provisions that such matters will be entertained only by courts not below district courts, i.E either district courts or high courts under its original jurisdiction, Singh submitted before the bench.
She said the pending cases also included those under the Patents and Designs Act which have to be heard only by the high court if the patent or design's validity has been challenged.