The Hon'ble Orissa High Court, provided for the requisite powers of a judicial officer. The present petitions dispute not only the notification dated November 13, 2020, but also the learned D&SJ's order dated July 7, 2021 transferring the cases pending before him to the Court of the Senior Civil Judge (Commercial Court), as well as the aforementioned ruling dated October 25, 2021. The establishment of the Commercial Court is sought by conferring power on the Presiding Officer, who is a member of the District Judge's cadre and is not subservient to the District Judge's rank.
In the instant case titled M.G Mohanty v. The State of Odisha, the issue raised before the Orissa High Court for clarification was
Whether a judicial officer below the rank of District Judge has the authority to decide arbitration cases under the Commercial Courts Act?
With regard to this issue, the Orissa High Court ruled that the state government has the authority under Section 3 of the Commercial Courts Act to confer jurisdiction over all commercial disputes, including arbitration matters, on a court below the rank of Principal Civil Court, and that the state government's notification for that purpose is not arbitrarily issued.
The CC Act also provides for expeditious disposal of appeals within six months of the filing. It also calls for appointment of Judges possessing special knowledge and expertise in commercial law. All these provisions provide rational nexus to the object sought to be achieved by the CC Act, viz., the expeditious resolution of commercial disputes. For the aforementioned reasons, the Court finds nothing manifestly arbitrary in the enactment of Section 10 (3) of the CC Act.
The Court further stated that the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (A&C Act) must surrender to the Commercial Courts Act (CC Act), not the other way around, because the goal of both enactments is to expedite the resolution of cases, and the Commercial Courts Act was passed later. Furthermore, the CC Act's provision for a Commercial Appellate Division at the District Judge level does not conflict with Section 37 of the Arbitration Act. Hence, the petition was dismissed.