Delhi’s Bar Associations have requested a tenfold increase in district courts’ pecuniary jurisdiction, citing rising inflation. They urged Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to amend the Delhi High Court Act.
New Delhi: On May 24, The Coordination Committee of All District Courts Bar Associations of Delhi has requested Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to increase the pecuniary jurisdiction limit of all district courts in Delhi.
At present, these courts can only hear civil cases where the value of the case is up to Rs 2 crore.
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The lawyers’ committee is now asking to raise this limit to a minimum of Rs 20 crore, pointing out that there has been a sharp rise in inflation and the cost of living since the existing limit was set.
The committee explained that since 2015, both Delhi District Courts and the Delhi High Court have shared the responsibility of hearing civil cases.
However, district courts were allowed to hear cases only up to Rs 2 crore in value, while any civil matter above Rs 2 crore went to the Delhi High Court.
The committee feels this system is outdated and needs to be revised in line with current economic conditions.
To push this demand forward, a delegation of senior members from the Coordination Committee met Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in person on Friday.
The delegation included Nagendra Kumar, who is the Chairman of the Committee, Neeraj, who acts as the spokesperson, and Tarun Rana, the Honorary Secretary of the New Delhi Bar Association.
During the meeting, they discussed the need for amending the Delhi High Court Act to reflect this change in pecuniary jurisdiction.
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The committee has made it clear that inflation and the increase in land values, business contracts, and overall costs have made the existing Rs 2 crore limit unrealistic.
They said the limit was decided almost a decade ago, and the volume and value of civil disputes have increased significantly since then.
The Coordination Committee stated,
“The jurisdiction for considering and deciding litigations of civil nature was originally vested with the district courts as well as the high court of Delhi simultaneously wherein the pecuniary jurisdiction for the district courts were for the suits upto valuation of Rs 2 crore only since 2015 and all the matters having valuation of more than Rs 2 crore were vested with the high court.”
They strongly urged the Law Minister to amend the Delhi High Court Act and bring changes that will allow district courts to handle civil cases valued up to at least Rs 20 crore, which they believe would also help reduce the burden on the Delhi High Court and allow for faster disposal of civil matters.
This move, if approved, could significantly shift the civil litigation landscape in the national capital.
Not only would it empower district courts to take on higher-value cases, but it would also bring more convenience to litigants who currently have to approach the High Court for disputes over Rs 2 crore.
The legal community is now awaiting a response from the Union Law Ministry on this request, which could bring one of the most significant changes in Delhi’s civil litigation system in nearly a decade.
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