Business Disputes
Overview
We advise proprietors, partnerships, family-owned businesses and companies in disputes over supply, service, distribution and agency contracts, construction work and commercial leases. Recovery may run through civil suits, summary procedure, cheque dishonour complaints or, where appropriate, the insolvency law. We also advise partners and shareholders when relationships within a business break down.
Since the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, disputes above a specified value follow their own procedure. That means fixed timelines for written statements, case management hearings and, in most cases, compulsory mediation before a suit can be filed. We work within that framework deliberately: we use mediation where it can close a dispute sensibly, and we prepare for trial from the start where it cannot.
Scope
Claims and defences arising from breach of contract, including damages, specific performance, injunctions and disputes over how commercial terms should be read.
Recovery suits, including summary suits on written contracts and negotiable instruments, and attachment before judgment where a defendant may dispose of assets to defeat a decree.
Suits before the Commercial Courts, starting with the mandatory pre-institution mediation required unless urgent interim relief is sought, and conducted under the stricter rules on pleadings, disclosure and evidence.
Complaints and defences under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, from the statutory demand notice through trial, interim compensation and appeal.
Dissolution and accounts of partnership firms, disputes among partners of limited liability partnerships, and petitions alleging oppression and mismanagement in companies before the National Company Law Tribunal.
Advice to creditors and to businesses on proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, including filing or opposing applications and submitting claims in a resolution process.
References to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council to recover payments owed to registered micro and small enterprises, with the statutory interest that delayed payment attracts.
Injunctions, status quo orders and other interim measures to protect assets, goods, confidential information or the existing position while a dispute is decided.
Approach
Before any proceeding, we review the contract, the correspondence and the payment trail to judge the strength of the claim or defence, the time limits running and what the client realistically needs from the dispute.
A civil suit, a summary suit, a cheque complaint, an MSE reference, arbitration or insolvency: each carries different costs, timelines and consequences. We recommend the route that fits the facts and the client's objectives, and explain the reasons.
Commercial procedure leaves little room for delay. Notices go out within the statutory periods, documents are disclosed as the rules require, and interim relief is sought early where assets or goods may be put out of reach.
A well-prepared case is a sound basis for a sensible settlement. We take part in mediation and negotiation where they serve the client, and press on to judgment where they do not.
Questions
The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 lists the transactions it covers. They include ordinary transactions of merchants and traders, supply and distribution agreements, franchising, construction and infrastructure contracts, partnership agreements, insurance, and agreements concerning immovable property used exclusively in trade or commerce. The Act applies where the claim is worth at least three lakh rupees. Such disputes go to the Commercial Courts or Commercial Divisions and follow a stricter procedure than ordinary civil suits.
Generally, yes. Unless the suit seeks urgent interim relief, the plaintiff must first attempt pre-institution mediation, which is conducted through the Legal Services Authorities. The Supreme Court has held this requirement to be mandatory. Time spent in mediation is excluded when computing limitation, and a settlement reached in mediation has the same status and effect as an arbitral award.
Under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, a written demand notice must be sent to the drawer within thirty days of receiving the bank's information that the cheque was returned unpaid. If payment is not made within fifteen days of the drawer receiving the notice, a complaint may be filed within one month after those fifteen days expire. The cheque must also have been presented while it was valid. Courts apply these limits strictly.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is not a recovery procedure in the ordinary sense. It is a collective process for resolving a debtor's insolvency. An application against a company is admitted only on a default above the statutory threshold and, for an operational creditor, only where there was no genuine pre-existing dispute. The process has serious consequences for everyone involved, and the Code has been amended several times, most recently in 2026. Whether it is the right route should be weighed carefully against civil and other remedies.
That depends on how the business is structured. For a partnership, the deed's dispute clause comes first, and it often provides for arbitration; otherwise the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 provides for dissolution and the taking of accounts. In a company, shareholders who meet the statutory qualifying threshold may petition the National Company Law Tribunal for relief against oppression and mismanagement, and the Tribunal's powers are wide. Early advice helps preserve records and avoid steps that weaken a position.
Insights
Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act runs on strict deadlines. A step-by-step guide to presentation, the demand notice, the fifteen-day window, filing the complaint, interim compensation and settlement.
A consultation of about an hour with an advocate of the firm, to understand your position and the options open to you. Fees are discussed and agreed beforehand.
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