Pre-Institution Mediation under Section 12A (Commercial Courts) (2026)
How pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act works in 2026: when it is mandatory before you can file a commercial suit, the urgent-relief exemption after Patil Automation, how the process runs, and how to track it. Last verified October 2026.
How-To Guide · Commercial
If you want to file a commercial suit in India, there is a step you usually cannot skip: pre-institution mediation. Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 says that a commercial suit which does not need urgent interim relief must first go through mediation before it can be filed. The idea is to settle business disputes faster and keep them out of court where possible. The Supreme Court has made this mandatory, and a suit that ignores it can be thrown out. This guide explains when Section 12A applies, the one real exemption, how the mediation runs, what the leading rulings say, and how to track the matter. Last verified October 2026.
- Rule: Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 makes pre-institution mediation mandatory before a commercial suit, unless the suit genuinely contemplates urgent interim relief.
- Consequence: after Patil Automation (2022), a suit filed in breach, without real urgent relief, can be rejected under Order VII Rule 11 CPC.
- Exemption: only for genuine urgency; a mere prayer for urgent relief is not enough, as Yamini Manohar (2023) held.
- Process: apply to the notified authority under the Legal Services Authorities; if it fails, file the suit with the non-settlement report; if it settles, the settlement is enforceable like an arbitral award.
01What Section 12A requires
Section 12A was added to the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 by an amendment in 2018. It says that a suit which does not contemplate any urgent interim relief shall not be instituted unless the plaintiff has first exhausted pre-institution mediation in the manner and following the rules notified by the Government.
In plain words, before you file most commercial suits you must try to settle the dispute through a short, structured mediation. Only if that does not work can you go to the Commercial Court. The mediation is handled by the authority notified for it, which operates through the Legal Services Authorities set up under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
02When it is mandatory
Section 12A applies to a commercial dispute of a specified value under the Commercial Courts Act. A commercial dispute covers a wide range of business matters, such as ordinary transactions of merchants, agreements for goods and services, partnership and joint venture disputes, intellectual property, and many others listed in the Act.
For such a suit, the Supreme Court has held that pre-institution mediation is mandatory and not optional. You cannot treat it as a formality to be skipped. If you file without it, and the urgent-relief exemption does not apply, the plaint can be rejected.
03The urgent interim relief exemption
There is only one real exemption. If the suit contemplates urgent interim relief, you do not have to go through mediation first and can file straight away, for example where you need an urgent injunction to stop an immediate harm.
Urgency has to be genuine
The Supreme Court has made clear that simply adding a prayer for urgent interim relief does not get you out of mediation. The court looks at the nature of the suit and the relief to see whether there is real, contemplated urgency. A false claim of urgency, used only to dodge mediation, can lead to the plaint being rejected.
So the exemption is for genuine urgent cases, not a loophole. If your dispute does not need immediate court protection, plan on doing the mediation first.
04How the mediation runs
The process is designed to be quick:
- Application: you apply for pre-institution mediation to the notified authority, usually in the prescribed form, with the basic details of the dispute and the other side.
- Notice: the authority issues notice to the opposite party to appear.
- Sessions: a trained mediator holds sessions to help the parties reach a settlement.
- Time limit: the mediation is to be completed within a few months, extendable by consent, so a dispute does not stay stuck.
Participation has to be in good faith. If the opposite party does not turn up or is not willing, the mediation can be closed as a non-starter, and that is treated as the mediation being exhausted so you can file your suit.
05If it settles or fails
There are two outcomes:
- If it settles: the settlement is reduced to writing and signed by the parties and the mediator. The law gives this settlement the status and effect of an arbitral award, so it can be enforced like one if a party does not honour it.
- If it fails: the mediator records that the mediation was unsuccessful or did not start, and issues a report. You attach this report when you file your commercial suit, to show that you complied with Section 12A.
Keep the report safe, because without it the Commercial Court may not entertain the suit. To find where a commercial matter is filed and its stage, see commercial courts case search.
06What the courts have said
Two Supreme Court rulings shape how Section 12A works:
- Patil Automation v Rakheja Engineers (2022): the Court held that pre-institution mediation is mandatory, and that a suit filed in breach of it, without genuine urgent relief, is liable to be rejected under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Court gave this effect prospectively from a fixed date.
- Yamini Manohar v T K D Keerthi (2023): the Court clarified that a mere prayer for urgent interim relief does not automatically exempt a suit. The Commercial Court must look at the facts and be satisfied that there is real, contemplated urgency, and can reject a plaint that dresses up an ordinary case as urgent.
High Courts have differed on details, for example in some intellectual property suits seeking urgent relief, so take advice on the current position in your court.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
Whether your case truly needs urgent relief, and how courts have read the Section 12A exemption, turns on precedent that keeps developing. Claw lets you search 30 crore+ judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, to find rulings on Section 12A, on genuine urgency, and on plaint rejection, in under 5 seconds, which is exactly what you need before you decide to skip or do the mediation. Once a suit is filed, Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so you can follow a commercial matter by party name and never miss a date. Claw does not use your case documents to train its AI models.
Create a FREE Claw account to find Section 12A rulings on point and track your commercial suit, using case search across Indian courts.
08Sources and further reading
- India Code (Commercial Courts Act, 2015, Section 12A): indiacode.nic.in
- Supreme Court of India (Patil Automation and Yamini Manohar): main.sci.gov.in
- National Legal Services Authority: nalsa.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This guide is general information, not legal advice. The urgency question is sensitive and fact-specific, so take the advice of an advocate before deciding whether to skip pre-institution mediation.
09Frequently asked questions
Is pre-institution mediation mandatory for a commercial suit?
Yes. Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 makes it mandatory before you can file a commercial suit, unless the suit genuinely contemplates urgent interim relief. The Supreme Court in Patil Automation held that a suit filed without it, where no real urgent relief is needed, can be rejected.
When can I skip Section 12A mediation?
Only when your suit genuinely needs urgent interim relief, such as an urgent injunction to stop immediate harm. The Supreme Court in Yamini Manohar made clear that simply adding a prayer for urgent relief is not enough; the court checks whether there is real, contemplated urgency and can reject a plaint that fakes it.
What happens if I file a commercial suit without mediation?
If the urgent-relief exemption does not apply, the plaint is liable to be rejected under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, following the Patil Automation ruling. You would then have to do the mediation and file afresh, losing time.
How long does Section 12A mediation take?
It is meant to be quick. The mediation is to be completed within a few months of the application, extendable by the consent of the parties, so that a dispute is not held up for long before the suit can be filed if it fails.
What if the other side does not come to the mediation?
If the opposite party does not appear or is unwilling, the mediation can be closed as a non-starter. That is treated as the mediation being exhausted, and the mediator issues a report which you attach when you file your commercial suit.
Is a Section 12A settlement enforceable?
Yes. A settlement reached in pre-institution mediation is reduced to writing, signed by the parties and the mediator, and has the status and effect of an arbitral award. So if a party does not honour it, it can be enforced like an arbitral award.