The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. In contracts, this clause specifies which city's or state's courts will handle disputes. Under Section 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a suit can generally be filed where the defendant resides or where the cause of action arose.
Your freelance contract with a Mumbai company says 'courts in Mumbai shall have exclusive jurisdiction.' If you're based in Chennai, you'd have to travel to Mumbai for any legal dispute — negotiate for your city or 'mutual jurisdiction' instead.
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