INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Pravin Anand, Achuthan Sreekumar and Rohil Bansal, Anand and Anand
94, 96 and 97 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. While applying for the above seizure orders against the accused/respondent at an ex-party stage, the court must be convinced of the fol - lowing: • that there is high likelihood of the opposite side destroying/fudging evidence if notice is given; • that the evidence collected through such seizure is to be secured for adjudicating a dispute between the parties; and • that the subject matter of the dispute will be preserved and not destroyed or tampered with. The powers of a civil court in this regard have been contemplated in Orders 26 and 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure. 5.7 Obtaining Information and Evidence Evidence can be collected as follows. Under Order XI Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Pro - cedure, 1908, a party can seek interrogatories. If certain important evidence or facts are not pro - duced before the court, the party concerned is obligated to produce these. As previously stated, under Order 26, the court has the power to appoint commissioners to: • seize and take into custody incriminating evi - dence and material that may be found in their power and possession; • inspect/investigate; • examine accounts; and • conduct scientific investigation, etc.
As per the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, both the claimants and the respondents must provide an undertaking that: • all documents in their power, possession, control or custody pertaining to the facts and circumstances of the case have been placed on record; • they have not made any false statement or concealed any material fact, document or record; and • they have included all information that is relevant for the purposes of adjudication of the case. If a party gives a false undertaking, it would be committing perjury and would invite penal con - sequences. 5.8 Maintaining Secrecy While Litigating Please refer to 3.1 Best Practices for Safe- guarding Trade Secrets . 5.9 Defending Against Allegations of Misappropriation The relevant defences are provided in 9.1 Pros- ecution Process, Penalties and Defences . 5.10 Dispositive Motions In India, the following options are available for narrowing down or eliminating a claim, com - pletely or partially: • where a baseless trade secrets suit is filed, the respondent can file under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, seeking dismissal of the complaint on grounds such as non-disclosure of any cause of action, etc; • as per Order VI Rule 7, the court may at any stage of the proceeding strike out or amend any pleading that may be unnecessary, scan - dalous, frivolous or vexatious, or which may
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