Legal Guide Part 8 - Dispute Resolution & Litigation in India

- Paragraph 1 - the dispute-resolution map: Indian dispute resolution runs on multiple tracks in parallel. The courts track - civil courts (Civil Procedure Code 1908, now supplemented by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 for summons and execution from 1 July 2024), commercial courts (Commercial Courts Act 2015, with mandatory s.12A pre-institution mediation), High Courts (original side for suits above the state pecuniary threshold), Supreme Court (Article 136). The tribunals track - NCLT (IBC + Companies Act), NCLAT (appeals), DRT (Debt Recovery Tribunal for SARFAESI cases), TDSAT (telecom), AAR (advance ruling). The alternate track - arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (domestic + international; Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration; SIAC / LCIA / HKIAC for cross-border), conciliation, mediation (Mediation Act 2023 enacted but not fully notified). The regulator track - consumer forum (Consumer Protection Act 2019 - District / State / National Commission), cyber appellate tribunal, IP Division of the High Court (post-IPAB abolition).