The Delhi District Courts — A Practical Guide to All Seven Complexes

By Advocate Manish Sharma, Faridabad · Reviewed 2026-07-11 · General legal information, not legal advice.

Last updated: 11 July 2026 · General legal information, not legal advice

Filing practicalities repeat across all seven complexes: registry counters open before the 10:00 AM bench sittings, e-filing runs through the Delhi districts portal, and certified-copy counters work to their own posted hours — the cause list, not the gate board, is the day’s authority.

The system in numbers: 7 complexes serve 11 revenue districts, jurisdiction follows the FIR’s police station (boundaries are redrawn periodically — verify on the official portal), and special-category matters — CBI, legislators — list at Rouse Avenue regardless of where the facts arose.

What are Delhi's seven district court complexes, and what does each cover?

How the right court is chosen

"Cause of action" is a legal term that means the set of facts giving a person the right to sue — for a contract, where it was signed or breached; for an injury, where it occurred. For most civil and criminal matters, jurisdiction follows the district where the cause of action arises or where the parties reside, mapped to the complex serving that district. Some categories follow their own rule: cheque bounce (Section 138 NI Act) complaints are filed where the payee's bank branch is located; matrimonial cases at the Family Court for the district where the couple last resided together; and CBI/ED/PMLA prosecutions at Rouse Avenue regardless of the underlying district. Getting the forum right at the outset avoids return of the plaint and lost time.

Common matter types across Delhi complexes

• Matrimonial: divorce, maintenance, custody and domestic-violence matters at the Family Courts within each complex.
• Cheque bounce (S.138 NI Act): among the largest single categories on Delhi's magistrate rosters.
• Criminal defence & bail: magistrate and sessions-level trials, with anticipatory and regular bail; NDPS at Saket, economic offences and CBI/ED at Rouse Avenue.
• MACT: motor accident compensation claims at the tribunals within Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Patiala House and other complexes.
• Civil: suits for recovery, property, injunction and specific performance.

Filing, tracking and appeals

Delhi district courts run e-filing and case tracking through the eCourts system; case status and cause lists are available by CNR number, case number, party name or advocate name. Certified copies of orders are obtained through the copying agency at each complex. Appeals and revisions lie to the High Court of Delhi and onward to the Supreme Court of India on substantial questions of law.

For NCR litigants — Delhi and neighbouring courts together

Many NCR disputes straddle jurisdictions — a family matter in Delhi with a connected proceeding in Haryana, or a commercial dispute with parties in both. Understanding which complex in Delhi, and which district court in the NCR, holds jurisdiction — and how a matter may travel to the High Court or the Supreme Court — is often the first strategic decision. The chamber advises and appears in matters across the Delhi district courts and the neighbouring Haryana courts.

Which Delhi court complex will hear your case?

Delhi’s district judiciary sits in seven complexes, and the police station on your FIR — not your address — decides which one. Broadly: Saket serves the South and South-East districts; Tis Hazari, the oldest and largest, serves the Central and West districts along with several North-Delhi jurisdictions; Karkardooma serves East, North-East and Shahdara; Rohini serves North-West Delhi and adjoining outer areas; Dwarka serves the South-West district; and Patiala House serves the New Delhi district. The seventh, Rouse Avenue, is different in kind: it houses the designated special courts — CBI matters, cases against legislators, and connected special-category proceedings are listed there regardless of which district the underlying facts arose in. Because police-station boundaries are redrawn from time to time, the reliable confirmation is always the official district-courts portal’s jurisdiction list for the police station named in your FIR — the complex follows the thana, and everything else (which gate, which filing counter, which Sessions division) follows the complex.

For anyone in the NCR straddling two States, the prior question — Delhi’s courts at all, or Haryana’s — is answered in the NCR jurisdiction guide.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

NCR jurisdiction guide — Delhi vs Haryana · Supreme Court — SLP & transfer petitions · Punjab & Haryana High Court · Verifying an advocate's credentials — Delhi HC · Criminal defence under the new codes