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Introduction Dower (Mehr) occupies a central place in Muslim personal law as the contractual financial obligation of a husband to his wife at the time of marriage. Though often conflated with maintenance, Mehr is a distinct proprietary right of the wife — either immediately payable (mu’ajjal/prompt) or deferred (mu’akhar) — and is enforceable as a…

Introduction Domicile is a deceptively simple term — often paraphrased as a “permanent place of living” — but in practice it is one of the most potent and contested private-law concepts in India. It determines which personal laws apply, the forum for matrimonial and probate disputes, the law of succession, and sometimes fiscal and administrative…

Introduction Domestic violence, in contemporary Indian law, is not confined to physical assaults inside a house. It is a statutory construct that recognises a spectrum of conduct — physical, sexual, emotional, verbal and economic — that injures or endangers a woman in a domestic relationship. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA)…

Introduction The Domestic Incident Report (DIR) is the frontline documentary instrument for operationalising the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA) in India. Prepared by a Protection Officer or an authorised service provider, the DIR records the aggrieved person’s complaint, the factual matrix of alleged incidents, immediate needs and the steps taken by…

Introduction Disturbed area is a short statutory phrase that has outsized consequences in Indian law. A declaration that a geographic area is “disturbed” triggers extraordinary executive and military powers, limits ordinary criminal accountability and alters the matrix of fundamental-rights protection for people living in that area. For practitioners working on human-rights litigation, criminal defence, public…

Introduction Dispersion — the atmospheric spreading, diluting and transport of pollutants by wind, turbulence and other meteorological processes — is the technical pivot on which most regulatory, remedial and adjudicatory responses to air pollution turn. In India, courts and regulators do not treat dispersion as an abstract scientific concept: it is the bridge between an…

Introduction “Disaster” is not merely a descriptive label in Indian law; it is a legal trigger that activates an entire regime of administrative powers, relief mechanisms, criminal and civil liability doctrines, and environmental-remediation remedies. Whether arising from an earthquake, flood, industrial chemical leak, structural collapse or large-scale fire, the classification of an event as a…

Introduction The phrase “disadvantaged groups” is a legal and policy fulcrum in Indian law where the State’s redistributive obligations, child-protection mechanisms and entitlement schemes intersect. In the context of children it determines access to welfare, education, protection and rehabilitative processes — and shapes admissibility, proof and relief in litigation. For practitioners who represent children, parents,…

Introduction Digital signature is a foundational construct of India’s digital-transaction architecture: it is the cryptographic attestation attached to an electronic record that links that record to the signatory, and is designed to guarantee integrity, authentication and non-repudiation. For transactional lawyers, litigators and compliance counsel, mastery of the legal, technical and evidentiary anatomy of digital signatures…

Introduction Diacetylmorphine — commonly known as heroin — is a semi‑synthetic opioid of acute legal, forensic and prosecutorial significance in India. Its high potential for addiction, ready diversion into illicit trade and severe public‑health consequences place it at the core of narcotics enforcement. For practitioners, diacetylmorphine cases are litigationally exacting: they raise issues of statutory…

Introduction Diacetylmorphine—commonly known as heroin—is a semi‑synthetic opioid of paramount legal significance in India. Though the term is pharmacological, its legal life is governed entirely by narcotics law: possession, manufacture, transport, sale or consumption of diacetylmorphine attracts some of the strictest criminal provisions under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) and…

Introduction “Dependant” is a deceptively simple term with profound consequences across Indian civil and criminal practice. Whether in motor-accident litigation, workmen’s compensation, family maintenance proceedings or succession disputes, the legal recognition of someone as a “dependant” determines standing to sue, quantum of compensation, entitlement to maintenance and, often, the distributive outcome. For practitioners, the concept…

Introduction “Demographic information” — in its ordinary sense the basic identifiers of a person such as name, date of birth, gender, address and other non-biometric particulars — sits at the intersection of everyday litigation practice and the law of privacy and data protection. For Indian practitioners it is a deceptively simple concept: it is indispensable…

Introduction “Deficiency” is a foundational concept in consumer and service-law litigation in India. It captures the gamut of defects — in quality, nature or manner of performance — and reaches acts of negligence and deliberate non-disclosure by providers of goods and services. For litigators advising consumers, corporates defending claims, and judges deciding disputes, precision in…

Introduction “Defect” is a small word with large consequences in Indian law. In product, service and regulatory disputes the presence (or absence) of a defect determines jurisdiction, causes of action, evidentiary burdens, remedies and potential criminal liability. For practitioners, understanding “defect” is not an academic exercise: it is the hinge on which consumer claims, product‑liability…

Introduction Defamatory material — in the modern Indian practice context — is any published expression (spoken, written, visual or electronic) that tends to lower a person in the estimation of right‑thinking members of society or injures that person’s reputation. The doctrine is of immediate practical importance because India treats reputation as a protected interest both…

Introduction Decree is the central procedural instrument in civil litigation: it is the court’s formal and enforceable pronouncement that finally or preliminarily determines the rights of parties in respect of the subject-matter of a suit. For practitioners, the concept of “decree” is not merely definitional — it is the gateway to execution, appeal, review, settlement…

Introduction A Death Summary is a critical medical document prepared by a treating hospital or clinician at the time of a patient’s demise. More than a clinical formality, it is often a central piece of evidence in criminal investigations, civil claims (medical negligence, insurance, succession), administrative proceedings and regulatory scrutiny. For practitioners, the Death Summary…

Introduction Dearness allowance (DA) is a ubiquitous — yet technically administrative — component of public service remuneration and pensionary entitlements in India. Though colloquially described as an inflation‑adjustment payment, DA has real legal consequences: it affects take‑home pay, computation of other allowances, pension and gratuity calculations, parity disputes between categories of employees, and is often…

Introduction dB(A) — the A‑weighted decibel — is the lingua franca of noise regulation, litigation and compliance in India. It translates complex acoustic pressure levels into a single number reflecting human hearing sensitivity. For courts, regulators and municipal authorities, dB(A) is the metric by which statutory ambient noise standards are expressed, alleged nuisance is quantified,…

Introduction Damages — the monetary compensation awarded for loss or injury — is the principal remedial tool across Indian civil, contractual and public law. It is the mechanism by which courts seek to put an aggrieved party, as far as money can, into the position she would have occupied but for the wrongful act or…

Introduction Customer’s liability in the modern Indian legal landscape describes the circumstances in which a bank, payment service provider, merchant or other service-provider can shift loss arising from negligent, fraudulent or unauthorized transactions onto the customer. The issue sits at the intersection of contract law, tort/negligence, statutory consumer protection, cyber‑law and banking regulation. For litigators…

Introduction Custom and usage are perennial sources of private law in India. They shape property rights, succession, family relationships, tenancy arrangements, and commercial practice in ways that statutes often do not fully capture. For practitioners, the law of custom is a double‑edged sword: it can vindicate long‑standing community expectations where statute is silent or ambiguous,…

Introduction Custody is a polyvalent legal concept in Indian law. It governs two distinct but equally consequential spheres: family law (the protective care, guardianship and day‑to‑day control of a person — usually a child) and criminal law (the state’s physical detention of an accused or suspect). For practitioners, mastery of both strands is indispensable: family…

Introduction The Current Account is the operational backbone of commercial banking in India. It is the bank account used predominantly by businesses, firms, professionals and high-frequency transactors for day-to-day receipts and payments. Legally and commercially it is characterised by (i) transactional frequency, (ii) usually no interest paid by the bank (unless contractually agreed), (iii) an…

Introduction Curfew — the executive imposition of a restriction on the movement of persons within a specified area and time — is one of the most intrusive tools available to the state in the maintenance of public order, public safety and public health. In India it has been deployed in contexts as varied as communal…

Introduction Crude cocaine is not an abstract chemical curiosity for Indian courts; it is an intermediary product in the illicit supply chain that triggers the full machinery of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) regime. Practitioners must understand what “crude cocaine” is technically, how it is treated under Indian law, the forensic and procedural…

Criminal Contempt Introduction Criminal contempt is a potent but often misunderstood weapon in the Indian judicial arsenal. It protects the integrity, authority and functioning of courts by punishing acts or publications that scandalize the judiciary, obstruct judicial proceedings, or otherwise impair the administration of justice. For litigators, media lawyers, in-house counsel and judges, an accurate…

Introduction Credit cards are ubiquitous instruments of modern commerce. Far from being mere plastic tokens of convenience, they sit at the intersection of contract law, banking regulation, consumer protection, cyber law and criminal law. For the practising lawyer in India—whether advising a bank, a merchant, or a consumer—credit-card disputes raise recurring practical problems: enforceability of…

Introduction Court-martial is the institutional mechanism by which offences committed by members of the Indian Armed Forces are investigated, tried and punished under service law. It is an autonomous system of military justice created to preserve discipline, efficiency and operational readiness of the armed forces while balancing fundamental rights and fair trial guarantees. For practitioners…

Introduction “Counsellors” under Indian law most often refer to the person(s) appointed or engaged by courts, Protection Officers or recognised service providers to attempt reconciliation, provide psycho‑social support, de‑escalate family violence, and assist courts in tailoring humane reliefs in domestic violence and family disputes. Though counselling is a key non‑adversarial tool in the Protection of…

Introduction Counseling — the organised provision of professional advice, psychological support and behavioural intervention — is an increasingly prominent remedial and procedural tool in Indian law. It functions at multiple nodes of the justice system: as an instrument of rehabilitation (juvenile, drug and mental-health cases), as a means of conflict-resolution (family law and civil mediation),…

Introduction Corrective Institution is an umbrella description used in litigation and policy to denote any state- or court-authorised place where persons are detained, sheltered, rehabilitated or re‑educated with an express or implicit corrective purpose. In the Indian context the term covers a spectrum — prisons and jails, remand and judicial custody facilities, “correctional” or “protective”…

Introduction “Cordon” refers to the tactical sealing or containment of a geographic area by police, paramilitary or armed forces to restrict movement into and out of that area. In India it is a routine tool of policing and internal security operations — used in counter‑insurgency, counter‑terror operations, riot control, searches for fugitives, protection of public…

Introduction A coparcener is a person who shares equally with others in the inheritance of an undivided estate or in the rights to it. The concept is central to Hindu succession law and the law of joint family property (Mitakshara coparcenary). Understanding who is a coparcener, what rights flow from that status, and how to…