Drafting a Commercial Suit: Statement of Truth, Documents and a Plaint That Holds Up

What drafting a commercial suit really involves

You're preparing three things: a plaint, the documents behind it, and a sworn verification in the form the amended Code of Civil Procedure lays down for commercial disputes. Fine language matters very little. Completeness is everything. A commercial plaint must tell the full story, carry the full paper trail, and say on oath that nothing relevant has been kept back.

That's the big break from an ordinary civil suit. In the old style of suit, you could file something thin and keep adding papers as the case went along. The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 shut that door. Section 16 of the Act amended the CPC for commercial disputes, and those amendments now govern how your plaint is written, verified and filed.

Advocate B.K. Singh's first question on a new recovery file isn't how much is owed. It's what the paper trail looks like, from the first purchase order to the last reminder. Good facts don't save a claim if the ledger page or the email admitting the dues is missing on day one. Getting it in later needs the court's permission. Sometimes you don't get it.

The rules that shape the plaint

Why every document goes in on the first day

Order XI Rule 1 asks for more than most clients expect. For each document, the list says whether it's an original, an office copy or a photocopy. It also says, briefly, who the parties to it are, how it was executed, issued or received, and who has held it since. That last bit is the line of custody. First drafts almost always leave it out. Check yours.

You also have to disclose what hurts you. An email where your sales manager accepted a quality complaint goes in. So does a credit note you issued. Keeping it out won't make it vanish. The defendant almost certainly has the same email, and when it turns up later your credibility suffers along with the claim.

Then there are the papers you think the defendant holds and want produced, such as its purchase register or the goods received notes from its warehouse. Name them in the plaint. That puts the defendant on notice from the start and helps at the disclosure and inspection stage, which is explained on our page on document disclosure and inspection.

There's one safety valve. In an urgent filing, where you need an injunction fast for instance, the plaintiff can ask for leave to file additional documents within 30 days of filing the suit, with a further declaration on oath. After that, a missing document comes in only if the court accepts there was reasonable cause for not disclosing it earlier. Delhi courts have refused leave where the plaintiff had the document all along and the only explanation was carelessness. Fair enough, frankly.

The statement of truth, in plain words

It's an affidavit at the end of the plaint. Whoever signs it says they're authorised to sign and that they know the facts. They say the contents are true to their knowledge, or rest on information and records they believe to be true, and that the annexures are true copies. Don't treat it lightly. A false statement in it can expose the signatory to perjury or contempt proceedings.

For a company, the verifier should be someone who actually handled the deal or can get at the records: the accounts head, the director who dealt with the client, or a properly authorised officer. Order XXIX Rule 1 CPC lets the secretary, any director or another principal officer of a corporation who can depose to the facts sign and verify for it. File a board resolution or power of attorney naming that person along with the plaint.

We tell clients not to hand the plaint to someone senior who has never opened the file. That person is also the obvious witness when evidence is led by affidavit under Order XVIII. If they can't answer simple questions about the invoices in cross-examination, the harm happens in the witness box. Paper can't fix it.

What goes into a well-drafted commercial plaint

• Correct parties. The defendant's exact legal name and registered office, and the proprietor or the partners if it isn't a company. Sue a trade name on its own and you'll have trouble at the execution stage.
• Jurisdiction paragraphs. Why this particular court has pecuniary and territorial jurisdiction, and how you arrived at the specified value under Section 12.
• Section 12A compliance. Either a statement that pre-institution mediation was tried, with the report annexed, or a reasoned application setting out the urgent interim relief you want.
• A clean chronology. Purchase orders, deliveries, invoices, part payments, reminders and replies in date order, each tied to an annexure number so the judge isn't left hunting through the file.
• Limitation. When the cause of action arose and why you're within time. If a written acknowledgment or a part payment restarted the clock, say so.
• Interest under Order VII Rule 2A. Basis, rate, start date, calculation date, total and daily rate. All six of them.
• Specific reliefs. The principal, pre-suit interest, interest during the suit and after the decree, and costs under Section 35 CPC as substituted for commercial disputes.
• Documents and declarations. The Order XI list with custody details, the declaration on oath, and the statement of truth under Order VI Rule 15A.

How we draft and file a commercial suit, step by step

This is roughly how a recovery file moves through our office. When limitation is tight, some of these run side by side.

1. Gather and sort the papers

   We ask for all of it. Contract or purchase orders, invoices, delivery challans, e-way bills, ledger extracts, bank statements, emails, chats, old notices. Then we sort by date and mark what helps, what hurts and what needs explaining. The gaps show up fast.

2. Check limitation, value and court

   We fix the date the cause of action arose and the last date to file, which for money claims is usually three years. We work out the specified value with interest to the expected filing date and settle which court has jurisdiction. The timing rules are in our guide on limitation for recovery of money.

3. Get through Section 12A mediation

   Unless urgent interim relief is genuinely needed, we file the mediation application with the Legal Services Authority and attend the sittings. If the other side settles, drafting stops right there. If it doesn't, we collect the failure or non-starter report. It becomes an annexure.

4. Draft the plaint and the interest sheet

   The plaint is written in numbered paragraphs, with an interest working sheet that meets Order VII Rule 2A, and the reliefs are framed. You read the draft for facts. Expect at least one round of corrections. Clients often remember a phone call or a part payment only when they see the chronology written out.

5. Prepare the Order XI list and the declarations

   Each document is listed with its nature (original, office copy or photocopy), the parties, how it was executed or received, and who has had custody. Electronic records get the declaration Order XI Rule 6 requires and a certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. We draft the full-disclosure declaration for the authorised signatory.

6. Sign, verify, pay court fee

   The authorised person signs the plaint, the statement of truth and the affidavits before a notary or oath commissioner. Court fee is worked out on the value of the claim under the state's court-fee law and paid. In Delhi that's usually by e-stamp or the e-payment facility.

7. File, and clear the objections

   The suit goes in physically or by e-filing. Registries raise objections freely: page numbering, an illegible copy, short court fee, formatting. You cure them within the time the registry allows. Refile late again and again, and the delay itself can cause limitation trouble.

8. The first date

   On the first listing the court looks at maintainability, Section 12A compliance and jurisdiction, then issues summons. Interim applications, attachment before judgment for example, are usually heard around this point.

Once you hand over complete papers, a simple recovery plaint usually takes two to four weeks to settle and file. Several contracts, a running account or cross-claims will stretch that. So will a client who's still finding documents.

Papers to collect before we start drafting

Emails, WhatsApp chats and Tally entries as proof

These days most commercial claims are proved mainly through electronic records. Order XI Rule 6, added for commercial suits, wants a declaration for each one. It has to cover who the parties to the record were, how it was produced and by whom, when it was created, sent or received, and its source. It also has to say when it was printed, who owns and controls the email account or computer, and whether the system was working properly. That's a lot. Most first drafts miss half of it.

On top of that, Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 requires a certificate in the prescribed form. It replaced Section 65B of the old Evidence Act from 1 July 2024. Suits filed before that date may carry the old certificate format, and that's generally fine.

The law isn't usually the weak point. The source is. A screenshot of a forwarded email, printed off a junior's phone, is hard to stand behind. Export the original mail from the account that received it, headers and all. Export WhatsApp chats from the phone that was actually used, and put that phone somewhere safe. For Tally or ERP ledgers, get a printout signed by the accountant who keeps the books, with a certificate. It's worth far more than a PDF someone saved months ago.

Where it's filed: value, court and place

Two things decide the court: what the claim is worth, and where. Rs 3 lakh and above makes it a commercial suit. In Delhi, commercial suits up to Rs 2 crore go before the District Judge (Commercial Court) at the district complexes, Saket, Patiala House, Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Rohini and Dwarka. Above Rs 2 crore, it's the Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court on its original side. A proposal to raise the district court ceiling has been under consideration since late 2025. Check the figure before you file.

In Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, you file before the court designated as the district's Commercial Court, at District Judge level. Think Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar (the district court at Surajpur), Gurugram or Faridabad. Appeals go to the Commercial Appellate Division of the Allahabad High Court or of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, as the case may be.

For territory, Section 20 CPC lets you sue where the defendant lives or does business, or where the cause of action arose in whole or in part. That often covers where the order was accepted, where the goods were delivered, or where payment was due. Courts generally enforce a clause giving one city exclusive jurisdiction, so long as that city's courts would have had jurisdiction anyway. The combinations are worked through on our page on which commercial court will hear your case.

Picking the wrong court isn't instantly fatal. Usually the plaint comes back under Order VII Rule 10 for filing in the right court. But the time spent can raise limitation questions. It's cheaper to get it right first time.

Time and cost at each stage

Court fee and valuation

In a money suit the court fee is ad valorem. That means a percentage of what you claim, on a sliding scale fixed by state law. Delhi uses the Court Fees Act, 1870 as amended for Delhi, while Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have schedules of their own. Since interest up to filing is part of the claim, the fee is worked out on principal plus pre-suit interest. Rates and caps get revised now and then, so look at the current schedule before filing. The calculation is set out in our guide on court fee for a recovery suit in Delhi.

Paying short is a common slip. If the court finds the fee deficient, it usually allows time to make it up. Miss that and the plaint can be rejected under Order VII Rule 11. Playing with the valuation is worse. Push the figure up or down to change the fee, or to keep the suit under the Rs 2 crore line in Delhi, and you hand the defendant a jurisdiction objection it'll be glad to take.

Some clients ask if they can drop part of the claim to save court fee. You can. But Order II Rule 2 CPC bars a second suit for the part you gave up on the same cause of action. Make that call with your eyes open. A few thousand rupees saved at filing is a poor reason.

Drafting mistakes claimants pay for later

• Leaving out the awkward email. The defendant files it with the written statement. Now the court wonders what else you held back.
• A ledger that comes from nowhere. An Excel sheet typed up for the case isn't your books of account. File the extract from your accounting system with a certificate.
• One line on interest. 'Interest at 18 percent' with no basis, no dates and no daily rate falls short of Order VII Rule 2A, and the court has a ready reason to cut it.
• Suing the wrong defendant. The brand name instead of the company, or the proprietor's firm name without the proprietor. Either one makes trouble when you come to execute.
• Forgetting the arbitration clause. If there's one in the contract, the defendant can ask the court to send the dispute to arbitration under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. That side of things is covered at arbitrationlawyer.in.
• Inventing urgency to skip mediation. Courts judge urgency from the plaint itself (Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Keerthi, 2023). A plain recovery suit that skips Section 12A without real urgency risks rejection.
• The wrong person signing the statement of truth. If they don't know the facts, they'll make a poor witness later.

How the plaint changes for suppliers, service firms, lenders and startups

If you supply goods, the plaint lives or dies on proof of delivery. Challans signed at the buyer's store, e-way bills, lorry receipts, GST returns showing the invoices. For goods sold and delivered, the Limitation Act gives you three years from delivery (Article 14); where a fixed credit period was agreed, check when it ended, because that can change the start date. Did the buyer ever complain about quality? Then meet it head on in the plaint. Don't wait for the written statement to raise it.

Service firms, IT companies and consultants have a harder time proving delivery. The plaint leans on statements of work, sign-off emails, timesheets, acceptance certificates and the client's own use of what you delivered. Article 18 of the Limitation Act covers the price of work done. Handle scope creep and change requests carefully in the chronology. That's where the defence usually builds.

A lender or investor chasing an inter-corporate deposit or trade advance has to show the money leaving through the bank. Show the terms it went on as well, whether that's a loan agreement, a board resolution or just an email, and any acknowledgment in the borrower's balance sheet. A written balance confirmation or acknowledgment under Section 18 of the Limitation Act often decides if you're in time. Look for one.

MSMEs registered under the MSMED Act, 2006 can claim interest at three times the RBI bank rate on late payment for supplies and services made after registration (Sections 15 to 17). Plead it under Order VII Rule 2A and attach the Udyam certificate. Startups often have very little paper, so their plaints lean on chats and emails. Big companies have the reverse problem. Too many documents, spread over too many people. For them the hard part is collecting from every department and making sure the disclosure declaration is actually true.

Pick the right kind of suit before drafting

Not every money claim belongs in an ordinary commercial suit. Where the claim rests on a written contract, an invoice accepted in writing, a dishonoured cheque or a written acknowledgment of a fixed sum, a summary suit under Order XXXVII may be quicker. The defendant needs the court's leave just to defend. The drafting is tighter, though. The plaint has to carry the special heading and say that no relief outside Order XXXVII is claimed.

Even in an ordinary commercial suit, good drafting can set up an early finish. Order XIIIA lets either side ask for summary judgment where the other has no real prospect of success. That only works if the plaint and documents already make the case plain. One more reason to file everything at the start.

If the debtor is selling off assets or moving money, file the plaint with an application for attachment before judgment under Order XXXVIII Rule 5, or for an injunction under Order XXXIX. Those need affidavits of their own, with specific facts about the threat. General worry isn't enough.

Filing in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana: what's different

In Delhi, the High Court and the district courts both take e-filing, and a lot of commercial work now starts online. Scanned annexures have to be legible, bookmarked and paginated the way the registry wants. Our guide on e-filing a commercial suit in Delhi covers the formats and the usual objections. The Delhi High Court also has its own Original Side Rules and practice directions for commercial suits. Those add indexing and synopsis requirements.

In Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar, physical filing is still common, though e-filing is available and spreading. Registry staff there look hard at court fee and stamp papers. Gurugram and Faridabad follow Haryana's court-fee rules, and counter practice is a little different again. Local associate counsel help with listing habits in each district. The drafting standard under the amended CPC doesn't change from one district to the next.

Advocate Sadhna Singh handles much of the day-to-day filing and objection work in these courts. In our experience, a plaint that's sound on substance can still lose two or three weeks to registry objections over pagination and copies. Build the paper book carefully the first time. It saves those weeks.

This week, if you plan to sue

• Write down the date of your oldest unpaid invoice, and the date of the last payment or written acknowledgment.
• Ask your accountant for the defendant's ledger extract, signed and dated.
• Export the emails and chats that matter from the original accounts and phones. And stop deleting things.
• Dig out the contract and read the jurisdiction, interest and arbitration clauses.
• Decide who in the business knows this deal well enough to verify the plaint.
• If Section 12A mediation hasn't started yet, start it now. It doesn't happen overnight.

When not to rush, and getting your papers checked

Sometimes filing fast is right. Mostly that's when limitation is about to run out or assets are vanishing. Otherwise, a week spent finding the missing ledger page or the original email is a week well spent, because the amended CPC won't easily let you patch gaps later. And if the amount is small, the debtor has nothing to attach, or the evidence is mostly oral, a fresh notice or a negotiated settlement may be the wiser first move. Advocate B.K. Singh says so plainly when the numbers don't justify a suit.

A commercial plaint gets used. The judge reads it on the first date. The defendant answers it paragraph by paragraph, your witness leans on it in evidence, and in the end the decree tracks its prayer clause. Of everything in the case, it's the part you control most.

If you'd like your contract, invoices and correspondence looked at before a commercial suit is drafted, send them to Advocate B.K. Singh's team through the contact page.