Supreme Court Holds 120-Day Deadline for Written Statement Applies to Counter-Claim Replies in Commercial Suits

Case Snapshot

Case Name: A.K. Ghosh & Company & Ors. v. Biman Bose & Ors.

Citation: 2026 INSC 684

Bench: Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Date of Judgment: July 13, 2026

Area of Law: Civil Procedure, Commercial Litigation, Counter-Claim

The Judgment in One Line

Plaintiff's reply to a defendant's counter-claim in a commercial suit is subject to the same 120-day mandatory deadline as a defendant's written statement.

Why This Judgment Matters

This landmark judgment resolves a significant procedural ambiguity in commercial litigation. The Supreme Court held that the stringent 120-day deadline under Order VIII Rule 1 CPC, as applicable to commercial suits under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, applies equally to a plaintiff's written statement in reply to a defendant's counter-claim. The Court rejected the view that Order VIII Rule 6A(3) alone governs such replies. This ensures that the Commercial Courts Act's objective of speedy disposal is not defeated by plaintiffs filing belated replies to counter-claims. The judgment also clarifies that appeals from procedural orders under Order VIII CPC are not maintainable under Section 13 of the CC Act.

Background

The plaintiffs filed a recovery suit against the defendants in the Calcutta High Court. The defendants filed their written statement and raised a counter-claim. Copies were served on the plaintiffs' advocate-on-record on Ju

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