Advocate Mohammad Kamran
- 10+ Years of Legal Experience
- Enrolled with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh
- Certificate of Practice holder
Contract Dispute Lawyer in Lucknow
Disputes about what an agreement required, whether it was broken, and what follows from that.
Civil Litigation
What this covers
Contract disputes are argued on the document first. Before any question of fairness arises, the court reads what the parties actually wrote: what each was to do, by when, what was to happen on delay, and how the agreement could be brought to an end. A great deal turns on clauses that felt unimportant when the contract was signed — notice provisions, the termination mechanism, the dispute-resolution clause.
The remedy sought shapes everything that follows. A claim for damages, a claim that the contract be performed as agreed, and a claim that a purported termination was invalid are three different cases with different evidence. Choosing between them is the first substantive decision in the matter, and it is taken after the agreement and the correspondence have been read together.
Who this may assist
Who this service may assist
If your situation is not listed, it does not mean it cannot be dealt with. It means it should be discussed.
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A party facing non-performance
The other side has not done what the agreement required, or has done it late or defectively.
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A party accused of breach
A notice alleging breach or terminating the agreement has been served on you and has to be answered.
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A buyer or seller under an agreement to sell
The agreement is not being honoured and you are considering whether performance can be enforced.
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A business reviewing its exposure
A dispute is developing and you want the contractual position assessed before positions harden.
Scope
Typical matters handled
- Claims for damages for breach of contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872
- Suits for specific performance under the Specific Relief Act, 1963 where damages would not be an adequate remedy
- Disputes about whether a termination or a notice was valid and effective
- Claims arising out of supply, service, distribution, agency and construction agreements
- Disputes about forfeiture of advance or earnest money and about liquidated damages clauses
- Invoking or resisting an arbitration clause, and proceedings connected with an arbitration
Process
How the work generally proceeds
The sequence varies with the facts and the forum. This is the usual shape of it.
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Step 01
Reading the contract as a whole
The obligations, the timelines, the notice clause, the termination clause and the dispute-resolution clause are read together before any view is formed.
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Step 02
Establishing what actually happened
Correspondence, delivery and payment records and site or work records are placed against the contractual timeline.
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Step 03
Identifying the remedy
Damages, specific performance, a declaration, an injunction, or a combination — each with a different burden of proof.
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Step 04
Complying with the contract's own machinery
Many agreements require a notice, a cure period or a reference to mediation before proceedings. Skipping those steps can be fatal to the claim.
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Step 05
Proceeding in the right forum
Civil court or arbitration, and for commercial disputes above the specified value the procedure under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, including its pre-institution mediation requirement where no urgent relief is sought.
Preparation
Documents commonly required
Bringing what you have makes the first discussion considerably more useful. Missing items can be obtained later.
- The signed agreement with every annexure, schedule and amendment
- Purchase orders, work orders and any documents varying the original terms
- Correspondence recording performance, complaints, delay and any extension granted
- Invoices, payment records and proof of what was paid and received
- Any notice of breach, cure notice or termination notice, with proof of service
- Records showing the loss suffered, if damages are to be claimed
Cautions
Common risks and mistakes
- Terminating without following the clauseA termination that does not comply with the notice and cure requirements can itself become the breach complained of.
- Continuing to perform while alleging breachConduct after the alleged breach is read closely. Acting as though the contract subsists can undercut a case that it was validly ended.
- Ignoring the arbitration clauseFiling in the civil court where the contract provides for arbitration invites an objection at the threshold.
- Assuming a liquidated damages figure is payable automaticallyA sum named in the contract is not always recoverable in full, and loss generally still has to be shown.
- Letting the correspondence tell the other side's storyAllegations left unanswered in writing are relied on later. Replies should be measured, prompt and advised.
See also
Related services
Reading
Related Guides
General information notes on this area. They are not legal advice.
The practice
Advocates
Each advocate of the firm is enrolled with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh and holds a Certificate of Practice.
Advocate Hamid Razzaq
- 15+ Years of Legal Experience
- Enrolled with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh
- Certificate of Practice holder
Advocate Mohd. Mateen
- 20+ Years of Legal Experience
- Enrolled with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh
- Certificate of Practice holder
Questions
Frequently asked questions
It may be. An agreement can be made in writing, orally or by conduct, and email exchanges frequently establish terms. What is harder is proving precisely what was agreed, which is why the surrounding correspondence matters so much in these matters.
Specific performance is available under the Specific Relief Act, 1963 in appropriate cases, and following the 2018 amendment it is no longer treated as an exceptional remedy in the way it once was. Whether it is available on your facts depends on the nature of the contract and your own readiness to perform.
It generally means the dispute is to be decided by an arbitral tribunal rather than by a civil court, under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The clause has to be read carefully, because the seat, the appointing mechanism and the scope of what is referable are all matters that are litigated.
Broadly, by reference to the loss that naturally arose from the breach or that the parties could have contemplated when contracting. It has to be proved with material, not asserted, so records of the actual loss are important from the beginning.
Where the firm works
Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh Coverage
The firm's office is in Lucknow. Matters arising in other districts of Uttar Pradesh are conducted from Lucknow before the court, tribunal or authority that has jurisdiction over them. There is no branch office elsewhere. Which forum will hear a particular matter depends on its subject, its value and where the cause of action arose, and is confirmed before anything is filed.
This page is general information about an area of practice. It is not legal advice, and it is not an advertisement or a solicitation of work. Reading it creates no advocate–client relationship.
Procedures, limitation periods, court fees, stamp duty and government charges change, and what applies depends on the facts of the particular matter. Nothing here should be acted on without advice on your own documents, and no outcome is promised or predicted.
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