Telangana HC directs commercial court to resolve jurisdiction in APTDC case

Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Friday directed a commercial court in Hyderabad to first determine whether it has jurisdiction to hear and pass orders on an execution petition against the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), whose properties are located in AP.The dispute arises from a contractor, KPC Projects (Hyderabad), which claims APTDC owes ₹3.17 crore for constructing buildings under an agreement made in 2013. Following disagreements, the matter was referred to an arbitration tribunal in 2022. The tribunal ordered APTDC to pay the contractor, but the payment was not made. The contractor then approached the commercial court for execution of the award.A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao found fault with the commercial court for proceeding with the execution petition without addressing the jurisdiction issue. The bench set aside the court's order and directed it to decide the jurisdiction question first. Additionally, APTDC was instructed to provide a list of its assets to the commercial court within three weeks.The contractor filed the execution petition two years after the arbitration award was passed, which had become final since it was not challenged. The commercial court had ruled on Sept 19, 2024, that it had jurisdiction because the arbitration was held in Hyderabad. However, the high court noted that the commercial court did not provide reasons for its decision and instructed it to reconsider the jurisdictional objection in a detailed order.