Frequently Asked Questions
General answers about how matters are usually dealt with. Nothing here is legal advice on a particular matter.
The answers below describe how something generally works and what a position usually depends on. They are not advice on any particular matter, and they are not written for anyone's facts. Where an answer says that something depends on the documents, that is not a formality: it means the answer for your matter cannot be given without them.
Questions
Consultations
How a first discussion works and what to bring to it.
Write to the office with a short description of the matter, or telephone during working hours, and a time will be arranged. The contact details are on the contact page and in the footer of every page of this website. Please fix an appointment rather than calling in without notice, so that enough time can be set aside to go through your papers properly.
Whatever documents you already hold that relate to the matter — agreements, notices, orders, correspondence, receipts, bank records. A first discussion is far more useful when it is a discussion about documents rather than about a summary of them. Missing items can be obtained afterwards; it is the papers you already have that shape the first assessment.
A first discussion often can be, particularly where the documents can be sent ahead and read before the call. Some work cannot be completed remotely — the examination of original title documents, execution and registration of a deed, and any step for which a forum requires personal attendance. Which applies to a particular matter is said at the outset rather than discovered later.
No. Reading this website, sending an enquiry through it, or having a first discussion does not by itself create an advocate–client relationship. A relationship arises when the firm has agreed to act in a matter and that has been confirmed between the firm and you.
Please do not send confidential documents through the enquiry form. Send a short description of the matter, and a secure means of providing documents can be arranged once we have made contact.
Fees depend on what the matter involves — the nature of the work, the forum, and how much is required. They are discussed and agreed before work begins, rather than quoted in the abstract. No figure is published on this website because a figure published without knowing the matter would be meaningless.
Questions
Civil matters
Suits, defences, interim relief and execution.
Suits and defences in civil courts, applications for interim relief such as injunctions and stay, recovery of money, disputes arising out of contracts, property disputes, and execution of decrees once obtained. The practice-area pages set out each of these in more detail.
That depends on the forum, the nature of the dispute, how many parties there are, and how much evidence has to be recorded. No period is published here because a period given in the abstract is not information, it is a guess. What can be given, once the papers are seen, is an account of the stages a matter of that kind passes through.
Claims are subject to limitation, and a claim brought after the period applicable to it has run may not be entertained however good it is on the merits. The period depends on the nature of the claim and on when it is treated as having arisen. It should be established on the documents at the outset, because it is one of the few questions where delay in asking is itself the problem.
Very often, and settlement is worth considering at every stage rather than only at the start. What matters is that a settlement is documented so that it actually disposes of the dispute — including any parallel proceeding — rather than leaving part of it alive.
A decree establishes that something is due. Execution is the separate proceeding by which it is realised — against a bank account, property or other assets. A decree that is never executed changes nothing, and the practical question of what the other side actually has is worth considering before a claim is brought, not after it succeeds.
Take advice promptly, with the summons and everything that came with it. Not appearing does not preserve a position; a matter can proceed in the absence of a party. Beyond that, what should be done depends entirely on what the proceeding is and what is alleged, and that cannot be answered from a general description.
Questions
Criminal matters
Complaints, bail, investigation and trial.
Complaints, bail and anticipatory bail applications, proceedings for quashing, defence at trial, and appeals. The criminal law section of the site sets out each of these.
In general terms, registration is followed by investigation, and what follows depends on what the investigation produces. What should be done in a particular case depends on what is alleged, against whom, and at what stage matters stand, and that is not something a general answer can address. Advice should be taken promptly, because the early stage is where the most can usefully be done.
Bail is sought by a person already in custody or before a court in a proceeding. Anticipatory bail is sought by a person apprehending arrest, before it happens. They are governed by different provisions and are decided on different considerations. Which is appropriate, and before which court, depends on the facts.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure with effect from 1 July 2024. Which applies to a particular matter depends on when the offence is alleged to have been committed and on the transitional position, and that should be established on the facts rather than assumed.
Some offences may be compounded and others may not, and where a proceeding may be brought to an end by agreement there is usually a procedure for it. Whether that is available in a particular matter depends on what is alleged. It should not be assumed that a private understanding ends a criminal proceeding.
Take advice before responding, with whatever communication you have received. What your position is, and what should be done about it, depends on the capacity in which you are being asked and on what the matter concerns. That is not something to work out from a general answer.
Questions
Cheque bounce
Dishonoured cheques, demand notices and recovery.
Keep the original cheque and the bank's return memo, and note the date on the memo. Everything that follows is counted from documents, and the memo is the document it is counted from. Then take advice promptly, because the periods the statute fixes are short.
Yes. A dishonoured cheque may give rise to a complaint under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, which is a criminal proceeding, and separately to a civil claim for the money. They are not alternatives, and both are frequently pursued. The guide on steps after a cheque is dishonoured explains how they differ.
The Act fixes the period, counted from intimation of the dishonour, and it is short. The exact position for a particular cheque depends on the dates on the documents and on the current state of the law, and should be confirmed against the memo itself rather than taken from a general answer.
Re-presentation affects how the statutory periods are counted and can complicate a position that was straightforward. Take advice before depositing a returned cheque again.
That depends on what the cheque was given for, what the notice says, and what the records show. The presumptions the Act raises operate in favour of the holder but are rebuttable, and the defences that work are documentary. Take advice on the notice as soon as it arrives rather than waiting for a summons.
Jurisdiction turns on the bank branch where the cheque was delivered for collection, rather than on where the parties live. Filing in the wrong court costs time that these timelines do not allow, so the forum should be established from the documents before anything is filed.
Questions
Property
Title, registration, mutation and property disputes.
In general: the chain of title, the registered encumbrances, the revenue and municipal records, the sanctioned plan and approvals, the land-use position, and who is in possession and on what basis. The guide on property documents to check before buying sets these out. What applies to a particular property depends on where it is and how it was acquired.
No. An agreement to sell records a promise that a sale will take place; a sale deed transfers ownership. A buyer holding only an agreement holds a right against the seller, not a right in the property. The difference decides what happens if the seller sells to somebody else or refuses to complete.
No. Mutation updates a revenue or municipal record to show a new holder after a transfer that has already taken place. It is maintained for the authority's purposes and is not an adjudication of title. It is still worth applying for promptly, because the records are what the world deals with.
No figure is published here. These are set by the State and are revised, and a rate stated on a website is wrong as soon as it changes. The applicable rate for a particular instrument should be confirmed against the position in force at the time of execution.
How property devolves on death depends on the law of succession applicable to the family, on whether there is a will, and on the nature of the property. Those questions cannot be answered from a general description, and the answer determines what has to be established and where. Advice should be taken with whatever documents exist.
Family and boundary disputes in particular are often capable of being resolved by a properly drawn settlement, partition or release, and that is generally quicker and less costly than litigating. Whether it is realistic in a given case depends on whether the parties are willing and on what the documents show.
Questions
Agreements
Contracts, deeds and the documents a business uses.
It may be. The heading on a document decides very little; what matters is whether the parties intended legal consequences, whether the essential terms are certain, and how the parties have behaved. A document called an MoU can be a contract, and a document called an agreement may bind nobody.
Stamping is a distinct question from validity, and the requirements depend on the kind of instrument and on the State. An instrument that is not properly stamped may face difficulties when it is sought to be used. The requirement for a particular document should be confirmed before it is executed.
The purpose of a written contract is not distrust; it is to record what was agreed while everybody remembers it and agrees about it. Almost every commercial dispute the firm sees begins with two people who were sure they had agreed the same thing.
For a business supplying goods or services, usually the one dealing with payment: when it falls due, what happens if it does not arrive, and what may be done about it. A great deal of recovery litigation exists because that clause was never written.
It depends on what happened. Conduct can establish a contract where signatures do not exist, and a signed document may not bind if essential terms were never settled. What a particular arrangement amounts to is a question of fact and should be assessed on the documents and the correspondence.
A template settles the questions of whoever drafted it, for a transaction that is not yours, often under a different law. It is a reasonable starting point for understanding the shape of a document and a poor substitute for one drawn for the actual arrangement.
Questions
Tax and GST
Notices, assessments, returns and registration.
Establish what the notice is: the provision it is issued under, the period it concerns, what it requires, and the time it allows. All four are stated in the notice. Then retrieve the return actually filed for that period and the records behind it, because the reply has to be built on a reconciliation rather than an assertion.
Return preparation is carried out with, or coordinated with, a chartered accountant. This is a firm of advocates: advice on the legal position, drafting replies and appeals, and representation before an authority, where an advocate may act as authorised representative, is our work. Audit, and any certificate that only a chartered accountant may sign, is theirs.
That depends on what the business supplies, where it supplies from and to, and its turnover, measured against the position currently in force. It is not a question that can be answered in general, and no threshold is published here because thresholds are notified and revised. The position for a particular business should be established on its own facts.
The matter may be decided on the material the authority already has, which is by definition the material that prompted the notice. Where an adverse order follows, there are appellate remedies, but they run on their own timelines and start from a weaker position than a reply made when the question was first raised.
An advocate may act as an authorised representative before the authority concerned, in the circumstances the relevant law provides for. Whether that applies to a particular proceeding depends on the forum and the provision under which it is being conducted.
No period is published here. It depends on the forum, the nature of the matter and the volume of material involved. What can be set out, once the papers are seen, is the sequence of stages a matter of that kind passes through.
Questions
Business registration
Choosing a structure and registering an entity.
There is no structure that is right in general. A proprietorship, a partnership firm, an LLP and a company differ in how liability is borne, how they are taxed, what compliance they carry and how ownership can be transferred. The choice should be made on the particular facts — how many people are involved, what the business does, and whether outside investment is contemplated.
No processing time or fee is published here. Statutory fees are notified and revised, and how long a particular application takes depends on the authority and on the completeness of the papers. What is discussed at the outset is what the application requires and what the firm's own work on it involves.
Executing a partnership deed and registering the firm under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 are separate steps, and registration carries consequences for the firm's ability to bring proceedings. Whether it is required or advisable for a particular firm should be established for that firm rather than assumed.
Businesses do convert from one form to another, and there are routes for it. It is more work than choosing well at the start, and it can have consequences that are worth understanding before rather than after. The available route depends on the present structure and the intended one.
The fewer the partners, the more completely a dispute between them stops the business. A deed's value is that it settles, while everyone is content, the questions that later become disputes: contributions, profit and loss sharing, authority, and what happens when somebody leaves.
No. Audit and any certificate that only a chartered accountant or company secretary may sign is coordinated with such a professional and is not performed here. No professional designation is claimed for anyone at the firm beyond enrolment as an advocate.
Questions
Uttar Pradesh service coverage
Where the firm is based and how matters elsewhere in the state are handled.
The office is in Lucknow. It is the firm's principal and only office, and there is no branch office in any other district.
No. The location pages on this website describe districts in which the firm assists clients; none of them represents a separate office, and none carries a local address or a local telephone number. Matters arising elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh are conducted from Lucknow before the court, tribunal or authority that has jurisdiction over them.
Matters arising in other districts of Uttar Pradesh are attended to, before the forum having jurisdiction over them. Which forum that is depends on the subject of the matter, its value and where the cause of action arose, and is confirmed before anything is filed.
A good deal of work can begin remotely — a first discussion, review of scanned documents, drafting and settling notices, replies and agreements, and filings that are made online. Some steps cannot: registration of a deed, examination of original title documents, and any hearing at which a party's personal attendance is required. Which applies is said at the outset.
The firm's practice is in Uttar Pradesh. Whether a particular matter arising elsewhere can be assisted with depends on what it is and on the forum involved, and is a question to raise when you make contact.
That is settled when the firm agrees to act, on the nature of the matter and the forum involved. No undertaking is given on this website that any particular advocate will appear in a given matter.
Reading
If a Question Needs More Than a Paragraph
The guides set out the longer explanations, with checklists and the mistakes that recur.
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.
Last reviewed: