Whether the non-filling of a statement of truth in a commercial suit makes the pleading or plaint non-est ?
Shubham Budhiraja [1] Company A has filed a commercial suit against Company B regarding the recovery of money for the job work. Company B was proceeded ex-parte. The learned trial court decreed the suit. Company-B filed an appeal under Section 96 CPC r/w Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. It raised two questions of law: (i) The trial court had no territorial jurisdiction as no cause of action had arisen in Delhi; (ii) The complaint was non-est in law as it was filed without a statement of truth. The Hon’ble Delhi High Court held that [1] : (i) The Legislature had, in its wisdom, intentionally laid great stress on the filing of the Statement of Truth along with the plaint, in support thereof, to reduce the time spent in the litigation by parties. (ii) The delay in filing of the same may be considered as a procedural irregularity, however, the filing of the same would be mandatory. Moreover, the filing of the Statem