The Delhi High Court closed the last argument for late national phase entry

What changed

In Neurocentria Inc v Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs, C.A.(COMM.IPD-PAT) 5/2025, decided 18 May 2026, the Delhi High Court held that the timelines under rule 20(4)(i), rule 22 and rule 24B(1)(i) are mandatory and non-extendable, that where multiple priorities are claimed the thirty-one months runs from the earliest priority date, and that an application already deemed withdrawn cannot be revived by a later amendment of the priority date under section 57(5).

Why it matters

The 2024 rewrite of rule 138 removed the old carve-out list and created a general power to extend or condone by up to six months. That produced a genuine argument that national phase entry might now be extendable. This decision points firmly the other way, and it also rejected patent-agent error as an excuse.

Who should care

Every PCT applicant entering India, and every firm docketing multi-priority families.

What you should do

Compute the thirty-one months from the earliest priority in the family, not the latest. Docket independently of the foreign agent. Set a twenty-eight month checkpoint. Do not tell a client the deadline is rescuable.