The Supreme Court has referred a high-stakes commercial dispute to mediation, appointing former Chief Justice of India, Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, as the mediator to resolve the matter.
The petition before the Apex Court arose from a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur dated 11 August 2025. The High Court had dealt with an appeal challenging an order of the Commercial Court, which had returned the plaint for non-compliance with Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.
While deciding the appeal, the High Court set aside the Commercial Court’s order and held that since the suit sought urgent interim relief, it was not barred under Section 12A(1) of the Act. The High Court restored the suit to the file of the Commercial Court for adjudication in accordance with law. It further restrained the respondent from transporting or selling 1,70,000 MT of iron ore, which formed the subject matter of an agreement dated 3 April 2023, until the disposal of the interim injunction application. The Court also directed that if any part of the stock had already been removed, the respondent was barred from compensating by selling an equivalent quantity from other stocks, unless of the same specifications, subject to the agreement’s default clauses.
Dissatisfied with the order, the petitioner approached the Supreme Court. Senior Advocates Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner, and Mr. Gopal Subramanium, representing the respondent, advanced elaborate submissions.
After hearing both sides, the Apex Court observed that the protracted litigation between the parties, given the magnitude of stakes involved, could be effectively resolved through mediation. Both senior counsels consented to the proposal.
Accordingly, the Court appointed Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, former Chief Justice of India, as mediator. The terms of fees are to be settled in consultation with the parties. The mediator has been directed to submit a report at the earliest.
The matter will be listed after eight weeks for further directions. In the interim, the Top Court has ordered both parties to maintain status quo and stayed all pending civil and criminal proceedings between them until the mediator’s report is placed before the Court.
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