Special Court under Section 20B versus Ordinary Civil Court

The 2018 Amendment provided a specialised forum for infrastructure disputes. Section 20B lets the State Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, designate one or more Civil Courts as Special Courts to try suits on contracts relating to infrastructure projects. It is not a new species of court, but an ordinary Civil Court designated to specialise in these disputes and bound by the twelve-month timeline. This note explains each in its own right, compares them, and works through an example.

Figure: The Special Court under Section 20B and the ordinary civil court compared, a specialised forum for projects

1. The Special Court in Its Own Right

A Special Court under Section 20B is a Civil Court designated as such by the State Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court. It tries suits in respect of contracts relating to infrastructure projects, and the twelve-month disposal rule of Section 20C applies to those suits. Its object is expertise and speed: by concentrating such suits in designated courts, the regime builds specialised experience and hastens disposal. It is bound, like any court, by the injunction bar in Sections 20A and 41(ha) not to delay a project.

2. The Ordinary Civil Court in Its Own Right

The ordinary civil court is the court of general jurisdiction, constituted under the ordinary law of civil courts, which tries civil suits generally, including suits on ordinary contracts. It follows the ordinary case-management timelines of the Code of Civil Procedure, not the fixed twelve-month rule. It serves the general administration of civil justice, and, like every court, it too must apply Sections 20A and 41(ha) where an infrastructure project is in question, but it hears all manner of matters, not infrastructure disputes alone.

3. The Two Compared

4. A Specialised Forum for Projects

5. A Worked Example

Suppose a dispute arises over a contract for a port terminal, a Schedule project. Because it relates to an infrastructure project, the suit is filed not in the general civil court but before the Special Court designated under Section 20B, which will apply the twelve-month timeline of Section 20C. By contrast, a dispute over an ordinary commercial contract with no infrastructure element goes to the ordinary civil court and runs on ordinary timelines. The Special Court is the same kind of Civil Court, staffed and constituted in the ordinary way, but designated to concentrate infrastructure disputes so that they are decided by experienced judges and within the fixed period. The specialisation is one of allocation and pace, not of a different judicial power.

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is a Special Court under Section 20B?
A. A Civil Court designated by the State Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, to try suits on contracts relating to infrastructure projects.

Q. Is a Special Court a new kind of court?
A. No. It is an ordinary Civil Court designated to specialise in infrastructure disputes, so that such suits are concentrated for expertise and speed.

Q. What timeline applies in the Special Court?
A. The twelve-month disposal rule of Section 20C, extendable by six months for reasons recorded in writing; the ordinary civil court runs on ordinary CPC timelines.

Q. Why were Special Courts created?
A. To build expertise and hasten disposal of infrastructure disputes, in keeping with the 2018 Amendment's aim of protecting projects from delay.