Category: Indian Law Basics

Introduction A clearing house is the institutional mechanism through which negotiable instruments (principally cheques and bank drafts) are presented, processed, reconciled and finally settled between banks. In India, clearing houses (whether bank-run regional clearing, automated MICR clearing, or the modern Cheque Truncation System (CTS)) form the frontline infrastructure that converts paper instruments into enforceable claims…

Introduction Classified Service Voters (CSVs) are a discrete but consequential category within India’s electoral mechanism. They are service voters — members of the armed forces and certain other uniformed services governed by the Army Act, 1950 (and corresponding Acts for the Navy and Air Force) — who, instead of voting by postal ballot themselves, lawfully…

Introduction Civil contempt is a remedial process aimed at securing obedience to judicial orders, decrees and undertakings. In Indian practice it is the tool the courts use when ordinary execution procedures are inadequate or have been deliberately flouted. For practitioners, civil contempt is less about moral blame than about compulsion: the court’s primary object is…

Introduction A “Circle Office” in the context of ration cards is not a term of art in statute but an entrenched administrative reality: it is the local field office of a State/Union Territory Food & Civil Supplies department (or equivalent agency) entrusted with the day‑to‑day management of the Public Distribution System (PDS) at a sub‑district…

Introduction The term “cigarette” appears simple in ordinary speech but has multiple legal consequences in India — regulatory, fiscal and penal. Whether a product is classified as a “cigarette” rather than a beedi, cigar or other tobacco product determines which regulatory regime, taxation schedule and compliance obligations apply, and it affects prosecutorial strategy under public‑health…

Introduction “Chowky” is the colloquial Indian term for a police outpost or sub-station — the smallest public-facing unit of the police establishment that services a limited locality, rural belt or industrial area. Though not a technical statutory term, chowkies are integral to everyday policing: they are the first point of contact for citizens reporting crimes,…

Introduction “Child in conflict with law” is a legal category that marks the point where childhood and criminal law intersect. It denotes a person below eighteen years of age who is alleged to have committed an offence. In India this concept is not an imprimatur for punitive adult-style trial; it triggers a distinct, welfare‑oriented process—balancing…

Introduction Child marriage remains a persistent social and legal problem in India with immediate and long-term consequences for health, education, autonomy and fundamental rights. Legally, the phenomenon is regulated primarily by the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) but it engages multiple branches of law — criminal law, family law, juvenile/child welfare law and…

Introduction A precise understanding of who is a “child” is foundational across Indian law: criminal liability, protective welfare measures, family disputes, education, labour regulation and inheritance all turn on age. Unlike a single universal definition, Indian law adopts multiple, context-specific definitions calibrated to policy goals—protection, rehabilitation, capacity and consent. Mastery of these statutory definitions, evidentiary…

Introduction The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of a State or Union Territory is the Election Commission of India’s principal functionary inside the State for all matters relating to electoral rolls and the conduct of elections to Parliament and the State Legislature. Practically, the CEO is the operational and supervisory nerve-centre through which policy, procedure and…

Introduction A chargesheet is the police’s formal investigative report submitted to a Magistrate when an investigation is complete. In everyday criminal practice in India it is the document that converts police inquiry into judicial proceedings: it identifies the accused, states the offences alleged, sets out the witnesses and material collected, and invites the court to…

Introduction Charas is a form of cannabis resin — an organic extract obtained from the cannabis plant — and is one of the primary narcotic products encountered in criminal practice in India. Although superficially a botanical term, the legal treatment of charas under Indian law is highly technical: its legal classification, the consequences of possession,…

Introduction Challan is one of those deceptively simple words in Indian legal parlance whose meaning and consequences vary sharply with context. In everyday speech it denotes a notice of a traffic offence, but in criminal practice it is used interchangeably with “chargesheet” — the police report submitted to a magistrate under the Code of Criminal…

Introduction A “cease and desist” communication — commonly a cease and desist letter (CDL) — is a pre‑litigation instrument used to demand that a person or entity stop an alleged wrongful activity and to warn of legal consequences if the conduct continues. In India, CDLs are a routine, powerful tool across intellectual property (trademark, copyright,…

Introduction A cash credit (CC) facility is the archetypal working-capital product of Indian banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). It is a revolving short-term credit line against securities (typically hypothecation of inventories and receivables, sometimes supported by mortgage and guarantees) that allows a borrower to draw, repay and redraw up to a sanctioned limit. Though…

Introduction Capitation fee — loosely described as any extra money, donation or payment exacted by an educational institution as a condition for admission — is one of the most persistent faults in India’s education sector. It sits at the intersection of fundamental rights (to establish and administer educational institutions and to education), consumer protection, criminal…

Introduction Capital gains lie at the intersection of transactional practice, tax litigation and transactional structuring. For practitioners in India, “capital gains” is not merely a dry arithmetic difference between sale and purchase price — it is a statutory construct with detailed rules on what counts as a capital asset, what constitutes transfer, how gains are…

Introduction “Brothel” is a legal and practical fulcrum in Indian criminal and administrative law: it is the locus where consensual sex work, coercion, trafficking, exploitation and public order concerns frequently intersect. For practitioners, the label “brothel” determines which criminal provisions, rescue procedures, evidentiary approaches and remedial/rehabilitative mechanisms are available. Getting the legal characterization right —…

Introduction A “broker” is a pervasive and commercially critical intermediary in Indian commerce — operating in real estate, insurance, securities, commodities, shipping, and many other markets. At its core a broker negotiates, brings parties together, and facilitates transactions; but in practice the label “broker” covers a range of legal states: independent finder, agent, commission agent,…

Breach of Contract Introduction Breach of contract is the central trigger for civil enforcement in commercial and private law. It converts a bundle of private commitments into justiciable rights and remedies — damages, restitution, equitable relief — and dictates the procedures lawyers must adopt from pleading to execution. For Indian practitioners, mastery of breach law…

Introduction Booth capturing is a distinctly electoral malady: the forcible appropriation of a polling station so that votes are cast by persons other than the bona fide electors. In India, booth capturing undermines both the integrity of an individual vote and the legitimacy of the entire electoral outcome. For practitioners, the term is not merely…

Introduction Bonus occupies a central place in Indian labour law as a statutory entitlement designed to share industrial prosperity with employees. Far from being a mere discretionary “reward for good performance,” bonus under Indian law is a carefully regulated, often litigated entitlement that affects payroll budgeting, labour relations, tax treatment and corporate compliance. For counsel…

Introduction Bodily injury is a foundational concept in criminal and medico-legal practice in India. It is the factual predicate that separates petty altercations from serious criminal liability, determines the quantum of charge and punishment, and drives medical, forensic and investigative processes. For criminal practitioners and judicial officers, precise characterisation of an injury—whether it is “hurt”…

Introduction “Biographic information” is commonly used imprecisely in practice to refer to both identification data (name, address, DOB) and biometric or biological identifiers (photograph, fingerprint, iris scan, facial image, etc.). In contemporary Indian litigation and regulatory practice, the latter category — what most statutes and courts call “biometric information” — has assumed singular importance because…

Bill Introduction A “Bill” is the fundamental instrument by which legislative policy becomes law in India. It is a proposal for a new statutory enactment or for altering an existing statute. For practitioners, mastery of the lifecycle of a Bill — from drafting and introduction to passage and assent — is essential: defects in subject-matter…

Introduction Bigamy — the act of entering into a second (or subsequent) marriage while a legally valid earlier marriage subsists — is a compact concept with wide-ranging criminal, civil and personal-law consequences in India. For litigators and counsellors it sits at the intersection of criminal law (public wrong), matrimonial law (civil status and reliefs) and…

Introduction “Beyond reasonable doubt” is the cornerstone standard of proof in criminal adjudication. It animates the presumption of innocence and determines whether the State may lawfully deprive a person of liberty or life. In Indian criminal jurisprudence this standard is not a technical metric; it is a working rule of evidence and criminal procedure that…

Introduction Bestiality — broadly described as sexual intercourse or sexual acts between a human and a non‑human animal — sits at the intersection of criminal law, animal welfare law and evidentiary science. In the Indian legal landscape it is treated not merely as a sexual offence but as cruelty to animals and a public‑order concern….

Bench Introduction A “bench” denotes the number and constitution of judges hearing a matter. In India, bench composition is not a neutral administrative fact: it shapes admissibility, precedential weight, the procedure for raising substantial questions of law, and—frequently—the ultimate outcome. Understanding how benches are constituted, when a larger bench is required, and how to secure…

Introduction A Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) is the regulatory vehicle through which Indian banks deliver “no‑frills” deposit banking to the financially excluded: zero or very low balance accounts that permit basic deposit, withdrawal and receipt of credits through electronic channels. For practitioners, BSBDA is a recurring feature in litigation and grievance redressal—ranging from…

Introduction Baptism is a sacramental rite of initiation into the Christian faith. Legally in India it is not a statutory concept; rather it is an ecclesiastical ceremony whose legal relevance arises where the ritual intersects state law — principally through issues of religious freedom, conversion, personal law, evidence and the welfare of minors. For practitioners,…

Introduction Bailable offence is a foundational procedural concept in Indian criminal law: it determines whether an accused has a statutory right to immediate release on furnishing bail. For practitioners it is not merely a label in a schedule — it governs arrest practice, magistrates’ duties, detention risk, and quick remedies for unlawful custody. Mastery of…

Introduction Bail bond is the ordinary, yet decisive, instrument by which the criminal justice system balances two competing values: the personal liberty of an accused and the duty of the State to secure that the accused appears for trial. In India, a “bail bond” commonly refers to (a) the recognizance (personal bond) the accused executes…

Bail Introduction Bail is the procedural device by which an accused person arrested or detained is conditionally released from custody pending investigation or trial. In India bail sits at the intersection of personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution and the State’s interest in effective criminal investigation and trial. For practitioners, mastery of…

Introduction “Authorized insurer” is a deceptively simple phrase with outsized practical significance in Indian practice. At its core it denotes an entity legally entitled to transact insurance business in India — principally, general insurance business — and includes government insurance funds that are statutorily empowered to underwrite risks. For practitioners, the label determines the validity…