As per the case facts, a commercial suit was filed by the respondent without complying with the pre-litigation mediation requirement under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act. The appellant ... filed an application to reject the plaint for this non-compliance, but the trial court rejected this contention, stating the procedure was mandatory but not penal. The reason for the appeal to the Supreme Court was to determine whether Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, which mandates pre-litigation mediation, is indeed mandatory, and whether courts erred in not rejecting plaints filed without adhering to this procedure. The question arose whether the statutory pre-litigation mediation is mandatory and whether non-compliance should lead to rejection of the plaint. Finally, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 12A is mandatory. It held that the impugned orders must be set aside, and the applications under Order VII Rule 11 allowed, meaning the plaints filed without mandatory mediation must be rejected. The court also discussed the prospective and retrospective effect of such a ruling.