Category: Indian Law Basics

Introduction “Gender Identity Disorder”—more commonly referred to today among clinicians as “gender dysphoria” and in public-health usage as “gender incongruence”—describes the distress that arises when an individual’s self‑identified gender differs markedly from the sex assigned at birth. In the Indian legal context the term sits at the intersection of constitutional rights, criminal and mental‑health law,…

Introduction Gender based discrimination denotes adverse treatment, disadvantage or exclusion of a person because of their sex, gender identity, gender expression or related characteristics. In India’s constitutional and statutory order, prohibitions against sex- or gender-based differential treatment sit at the intersection of fundamental rights (equality, dignity) and a panoply of protective and corrective statutes (labour,…

Introduction Gender affirmative hormone therapy (GAHT) — commonly called hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in some clinical settings — refers to the medically supervised prescription of sex steroids and adjunct medications to induce secondary sex characteristics that align an individual’s physical appearance with their gender identity. In India’s evolving jurisprudence on transgender and gender-variant persons, GAHT…

Introduction The Gazette — commonly styled as the Official Gazette, Gazette of India, or State Gazette — is the formal public journal through which the executive publishes notices, orders, regulations, statutory rules, appointments, notifications and other instruments of public administration. In India the Gazette performs three inter-related functions of great practical importance: (i) it is…

Introduction Ganja occupies a central and practically consequential niche in Indian narcotics law. Although popularly treated as one of several names for cannabis, the statutory meaning assigned to “ganja” under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) is precise and determinative of criminal liability, evidentiary strategy and prosecutorial approach. For criminal practitioners…

Introduction Gang rape is not merely an aggregate of individual sexual offences; it is a qualitatively distinct offence that combines multiple assailants, a shared criminal design and the heightened violence, humiliation and social trauma that flow from a coordinated sexual attack. In India’s criminal law landscape, the term is central to how the prosecution frames…

Introduction Fundamental Rights occupy the central place in India’s constitutional order. Enshrined in Part III (Articles 12–35) of the Constitution, they are the primary guarantors of individual dignity, equality, liberty and justice against arbitrary State action. For practitioners, Fundamental Rights are not abstract ideals but sharply effective tools—vehicles for immediate relief, systemic reform and claim…

Introduction Force majeure — a Latin phrase meaning “superior force” — is a central contractual and doctrinal concept in commercial practice. In India it operates both as a creature of contract (the “force majeure clause”) and as a gateway to the statutory doctrine of frustration under Section 56 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. Practitioners…

Force Introduction Force is a foundational concept in both criminal and civil law in India. It underpins offences ranging from simple assault to rape, informs the doctrine of coercion in contract law, and shapes evidentiary strategies in the courtroom. For practitioners, precise analysis of whether an act amounted to “force” (and whether it was accompanied…

Introduction The legal concept of the foetus occupies a pivotal place where criminal law, medical regulation, reproductive technologies, family law and constitutional rights intersect. For practitioners advising hospitals, litigating reproductive-rights and negligence claims, defending or prosecuting offences related to miscarriage/foeticide, or framing petitions for late-term medical termination, a precise grasp of how Indian law treats…

Introduction Foeticide — the deliberate killing of a foetus in utero — sits at the intersection of criminal law, medical ethics, reproductive rights and specialised regulatory regimes in India. Practitioners encounter it in three distinct contexts: (a) unlawful or criminal termination of pregnancy (often prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code), (b) sex‑selective termination and illegal…

Introduction The First Information Report (FIR) is the trigger that sets criminal machinery in motion in India. It converts a private grievance into a public function—bringing the state’s investigative and prosecutorial resources to bear on alleged criminal conduct. For practitioners, mastery of the law and practice surrounding the FIR is indispensable: it determines whether an…

Introduction A “Financial Year” (FY) is a deceptively simple phrase that anchors a host of substantive and procedural obligations across Indian law — taxation, corporate compliance, GST, company secretarial practice, audit, insolvency and commercial contracts. Practitioners must treat the concept not as mere calendar convenience but as the legal framework that fixes the period for…

Introduction Fasid (فاسد) — commonly translated as an “irregular” or “defective” marriage — is a key category in classical Muslim personal law. Unlike a sahih (valid) nikah, a fasid marriage contains a defect which makes it irregular but not necessarily void (batil). In the Indian legal context, where Muslim personal law governs matrimonial matters for…

Introduction A “family business” in India is not a discrete statutory category but a pervasive commercial reality: enterprises—ranging from small proprietorships and traditional shop-fronts to large, closely held private companies—where control, management and capital originate predominantly within a family. Such businesses sit at the confluence of company law, partnership law, succession law, tax law and…

Introduction The word “family” carries deep cultural resonance in India, but in law it is not a unitary concept — it is a contextual, statutory and jurisprudential construct. Different branches of law (personal law, criminal law, succession, maintenance, domestic violence, tax, insurance and procedural law) define and treat “family” differently for distinct legal consequences. For…

Introduction “Fake news” — the deliberate creation or propagation of false or misleading information presented as news — has moved from being a media buzzword to a recurring subject of litigation, regulatory action and criminal complaints in India. For practitioners, the term has no single statutory definition, yet it interfaces with criminal law, civil remedies…

Introduction Extortion is a core offence against property and public order under the Indian Penal Code. In practice it sits at the intersection of criminal intimidation, theft/robbery, and offences by public servants; its prosecution and defence raise distinct factual and evidentiary issues. For litigators, mastery of the precise ingredients (fear + dishonest inducement + delivery/consent)…

Introduction Externment is a prophylactic, non‑penal order that compels a person to stay away from a specified geographical area for a stipulated period. In practice it functions as an instrument of public order and preventive policing: rather than punishing past conduct, it seeks to preclude the possibility of future offences or public disorder by removing…

Introduction An “expressway with access control” is not merely an engineering classification; it is a legal regime that transforms the rights, liabilities and remedies of private landowners, users, public authorities and contractors where the roadway traverses the Indian landscape. Practically, an access‑controlled expressway is a high‑speed, limited‑access highway with regulated points of entry and exit,…

Introduction The term “executor” sits at the heart of succession practice. Practically, an executor is the person named in a testator’s will to carry out the directions contained in it: marshal assets, pay debts and liabilities, manage estate affairs, obtain probate (where required), and distribute the residue in accordance with the will. For practitioners, the…

Introduction Excise duty has been one of the central pillars of India’s indirect tax architecture for seven decades. Traditionally described simply as a tax on the manufacture or production of goods within the country, excise in practice governs a complex matrix of classification, valuation, timing (when the tax becomes leviable), compliance formalities and credit mechanisms….

Introduction “Establishment” is a deceptively simple word that drives the operation, coverage and enforcement of nearly every labour, social security and service statute in India. Whether a workplace is an “establishment” — and if so, what part(s) of a corporate or government organisation constitute that establishment — determines applicability of shop and establishment rules, standing…

Introduction Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) is India’s primary statutory social security scheme for workers in the organised and certain unorganised sectors. Administered by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948, ESI provides a package of medical care and cash benefits to insured persons and their dependants on contingencies such…

Introduction “Equestrian” — in ordinary parlance, a person who rides horses — acquires distinct legal contours when situated within Indian law. From criminal prohibitions against cruelty to animals and civil liability for bodily injury, to sport regulation, international movement of horses, betting law at racecourses, and consumer claims against riding schools, the legal issues surrounding…

Introduction Endorsement — the use of a public figure’s persona (name, likeness, voice, image, or reputation) to promote a product or service — is a commercial fulcrum of modern Indian marketing. For lawyers advising brands, agencies or celebrities, the term is more than marketing jargon: it engages contract law, intellectual property, consumer protection, publicity/privacy rights,…

Introduction The term “employee” is foundational across Indian labour, social security, taxation and service jurisprudence. Whether a dispute is about termination, minimum wages, provident fund deductions, maternity benefits, gratuity, industrial action or tort/liability, the threshold question — is the claimant an “employee” of the respondent? — determines the forum, the applicable statutory regime and the…

Introduction Emission standards are the statutory and administrative limits placed on pollutants discharged into the atmosphere from stationary sources (factories, power plants, boilers, incinerators) and mobile sources (vehicles). In India these standards are a central regulatory tool for protecting public health, preserving ambient air quality, and steering industrial and transport policy. For practitioners, “emission standards”…

Introduction “Embryo” in medical parlance denotes the developing human organism from fertilisation up to the end of the eighth week (fifty‑six days). In Indian law the concept is at the intersection of criminal law (offences relating to causing miscarriage), reproductive and abortion law (access to termination and foetal‑abnormality jurisprudence), assisted reproductive technology (ART) regulation, and…

Introduction Elementary education—commonly expressed in lay terms as “Class I to Class VIII” or education for children aged six to fourteen—is a constitutional, statutory and administrative fault line in Indian public law. It is where fundamental rights, Directive Principles, welfare administration and private interests intersect. For practitioners, “elementary education” is not merely a classificatory label:…

Electronic Signature Introduction Electronic signatures (e-signatures) are the linchpin of digitisation in transactional, regulatory and litigation practice in India. They enable execution, authentication and exchange of documents without physical presence and underpin e-filing, e-tendering, e-governance and commercial contracting. For practitioners, understanding the legal status, evidentiary requirements and operational safeguards around electronic signatures is essential to…

Introduction Electronic Banking Transaction (commonly called e‑banking, internet banking, online banking or virtual banking) denotes any movement of funds, payment instruction, account access or related banking service effected by electronic means rather than by in‑person branch interaction. In India, electronic banking underpins retail payments, corporate treasury operations and the digital economy (UPI, NEFT, IMPS, card…

Introduction An electoral roll (commonly, the voter list) is the foundational repository of democratic participation: it records who is entitled to vote in a particular constituency and thereby determines who may exercise the franchise at parliamentary, assembly and local body elections. For litigators and election practitioners the electoral roll is not merely administrative paperwork —…

Introduction The term “elector” is elemental to India’s representative democratic structure. At its narrowest, an elector is simply a person entitled to vote in a particular constituency; at its practical limit, the identity, whereabouts and eligibility of electors determine the composition of electoral rolls, the outcome of elections, and the legitimacy of democratic government. For…

Introduction The election manifesto is a core instrument of electoral democracy in India: a public, written declaration by a political party (or candidate) setting out ideology, policy promises and programmes in the run‑up to an election. Practically, a manifesto shapes voter expectations, frames campaign narratives and functions as both a political contract with the electorate…