Quick Summary: The Delhi High Court turned down OM Fire Safety's request after they didn't pay the fees in a business case. Even after getting many chances, they didn't follow the rules, so their Written Statement was removed from the case.
On November 21, 2025, Judge Girish Kathpalia of the Delhi High Court made a decision that didn't favor OM Fire Safety Company Pvt Ltd. They were in a legal dispute with Umakant, and things went south when they didn’t pay the fees ordered by the court. Because of this, their Written Statement was taken out of the case.
At first, OM Fire Safety was late in submitting their Written Statement. The court allowed the delay but told them to pay fees. They didn’t pay, and this caused the court to postpone the case several times. On October 17, 2025, the court decided enough was enough and removed their Written Statement from the case.
"The reason for not paying the fee is completely weak and not convincing." - Justice Girish Kathpalia
OM Fire Safety said they were confused about whom to pay. However, they didn’t try to figure this out between August and October 2025. The court found this excuse unconvincing, especially since the rule is that fees should be paid to the other side that faced delays.
The court referred to a case, Manohar Singh vs D.S. Sharma, to highlight that not paying fees means you can't take part in further proceedings. The idea is to keep business cases moving quickly and not let them drag on like regular civil cases.
Justice Kathpalia saw no reason to change the decision and dismissed OM Fire Safety's request. He emphasized that business courts are meant to be fast, and parties must follow the rules strictly to keep things moving.
In short, OM Fire Safety's lack of action and laid-back approach led to their loss in this round. The court made it clear that in business disputes, there's no room for delays and excuses.
