Delhi Government Approves Significant Increase in Civil Court Jurisdiction; Central Government Urged for Further Reform

The Delhi government has informed the High Court that it has greenlit a proposal to substantially boost the pecuniary jurisdiction of civil courts from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. Additionally, the Central Government has been urged to revise the economic appellate jurisdiction of District Judges in Delhi by amending Section 39(1) of the Punjab Court Act, 1918 through parliamentary action. These developments were disclosed in a status report submitted by Bharat Parashar, the Principal Secretary of Delhi Government’s Law, Justice, and Legislative Affairs department.

The bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, is slated to convene the next hearing on October 8 regarding this matter. Economic jurisdiction, delineating a court’s authority based on the monetary value of a lawsuit, was the focal point of discussion during the hearing.

The bench had been addressing a petition filed by lawyer Amit Sahni, who advocated for elevating the pecuniary jurisdiction of Delhi’s civil courts from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. Sahni emphasized that the High Court had administratively sanctioned the jurisdictional increase a year prior, yet the Center has yet to formalize it through notification.