In a commercial suit, the time limit of 120 days for filing a written statement ______.

For commercial disputes governed by the amended CPC, the defendant forfeits the right to file a written statement after 120 days from service of summons, and the court cannot take it on record. SCG Contracts (2019) confirmed this mandatory outer limit. Reasons, general discretion, costs or inherent powers cannot override that statutory forfeiture in the ordinary course.

Current law: The Supreme Court pandemic limitation orders later required exclusion of the covered COVID period; Prakash Corporates (2022) applied that exceptional exclusion even to the commercial 120-day deadline. This was not a general restoration of trial-court discretion to extend the normal limit, which remains mandatory.