In Obulapuram Mining Company Pvt. Ltd. v. R.K. Mining Private Limited, subsequently reaffirmed in U.V. Satyanarayana and Ors. v. M/s Shriram City Union Finance Ltd., the Andhra Pradesh High Court held that Execution Petitions arising from arbitral awards in commercial disputes of the specified value lie exclusively before the designated Commercial Court. The Court adopted a purposive interpretation of Sections 10 and 15 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, holding that the expression “application” is wide enough to include execution proceedings under Section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 read with Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Court further observed that bifurcating the proceedings—adjudication before the Commercial Court and execution before a regular Civil Court—would fundamentally defeat the Act’s objective of speedy justice. Emphasising the overriding effect of Section 21 of the Commercial Courts Act, the Court concluded that ordinary Civil Courts lack jurisdiction to entertain such execution proceedings, rendering any orders passed therein coram non judice and, consequently, a nullity in law.
