Pre-institution mediation: the step you cannot skip in a commercial suit

The Commercial Courts Act requires a plaintiff to exhaust pre-institution mediation before filing a commercial suit, unless the suit contemplates urgent interim relief. This is not a formality that can be regularised later — a plaint filed without it, and without a genuine claim to urgency, is liable to be rejected.

When the exemption actually applies

The exemption turns on whether urgent interim relief is genuinely contemplated, judged by the pleadings and the nature of the case rather than by the label the plaintiff attaches. An application for injunction added to manufacture urgency invites the court to look behind it.

How the process runs

1. Apply to the authority notified under the Legal Services Authorities Act framework.
2. Notice issues to the opposite party; the process is time-bound, with a limited extension by consent.
3. If settled, the settlement carries the status of an arbitral award on agreed terms.
4. If not, a non-starter or failure report issues, and the suit may be filed with it.

Why it is worth more than compliance

• The limitation period is excluded for the mediation period, so the step costs you time rather than rights.
• It surfaces the other side's real position months before pleadings would.
• In society and developer disputes, where the parties must continue dealing with each other, a mediated outcome usually survives better than an imposed one.

Treat it as the first strategic move in the case rather than a box to tick, and it frequently pays for itself.