A short 2015 amendment raised the Delhi High Court’s pecuniary jurisdiction tenfold — from ₹20 lakh to ₹2 crore. For IP owners used to the Delhi HC’s expertise, it meant a choice: go to a less IP-experienced district court, or pay ten times the court fee to stay.
Note: The IP-litigation landscape at Delhi has since evolved significantly — after the IPAB’s abolition in 2021, the Delhi High Court set up a dedicated Intellectual Property Division (IPD) with its own rules, consolidating IP matters. This piece captures the 2015 change and its immediate concerns.
What the amendment did
The Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act, 2015 (passed 6 August 2015, published 10 August) made two changes:
- raised the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court from ₹20 lakh (≈ US$30,000) to ₹2 crore (≈ US$300,000); and
- allowed pending cases to be sent down to subordinate courts.
The aim: reduce the Delhi HC’s workload and let litigants reach their nearest district court.
The background
You file a suit in the appropriate court based on the governing statute and the value of the suit. Before the Act, disputes valued over ₹20 lakh went directly to the Delhi HC; now only those over ₹2 crore do. Of India’s 24 High Courts, only four — Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Calcutta — have original civil jurisdiction; the rest are largely appellate (bar writs and specific cases).
How the chartered courts compared
- Bombay — ₹1 crore (except Admiralty, Testamentary, Parsi and IP suits); changed 2012.
- Calcutta — ₹1 crore, with concurrent High Court / City Civil Court jurisdiction for ₹10 lakh–₹1 crore; changed 2013.
- Madras — ₹25 lakh; changed 2010.
What it meant for litigants
- The Delhi HC would only hear suits valued ₹2 crore+.
- Higher court fee — roughly 1% of the suit’s valuation, so ₹2 crore meant about ₹2 lakh (≈ US$3,000).
- Case transfers — roughly 12,000 pending cases valued ₹20 lakh–₹2 crore could move to subordinate courts.
The IP angle
The Delhi HC had long been the go-to forum for IP infringement, granting injunctions almost weekly, its judges steeped in IP issues. Post-amendment, cases could fall to district-court judges with less IP experience. To keep matters before the more IP-savvy High Court, owners might have to pay ten times the court fee by valuing suits at ₹2 crore+.
The APAA had asked for an exception for technical disputes (like patents), as Bombay carved out for IP — but no such exception appeared. The open question at the time: would plaintiffs inflate valuations to stay in the High Court, or turn to the other chartered courts?
The takeaways
- Delhi HC’s threshold jumped to ₹2 crore in 2015 — smaller suits go to district courts.
- Court fees scale (~1%) — staying in the High Court can mean a tenfold fee.
- IP expertise was the worry — district judges may have less IP experience (since addressed by the 2021 IPD).
- No IP exception was carved out, unlike Bombay’s approach.
Frequently asked questions
What did the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act, 2015 change? It raised the Delhi HC’s pecuniary jurisdiction from ₹20 lakh to ₹2 crore, and allowed pending cases in that range to be transferred to subordinate courts.
How did it affect IP litigants? IP suits below ₹2 crore could go to less IP-experienced district courts; to stay before the Delhi HC, owners might value suits higher and pay a much larger court fee.
How much is the court fee? Roughly 1% of the suit’s valuation — about ₹2 lakh for a ₹2 crore suit.
Has the position changed since? Yes — the Delhi HC later established a dedicated Intellectual Property Division (IPD) after the IPAB’s 2021 abolition, reshaping how IP matters are handled.