Insights
Civil disputes
Notes on Indian law filed under Civil disputes. The practice itself is described on its own page.
A road carrier in India answers for lost goods up to ten times the freight, unless a higher risk rate was agreed
A common carrier of goods by road in India is responsible under the Carriage by Road Act, 2007 for loss or damage in transit unless a cause listed in section 17 applies, but section 10(1) limits the liability to an amount fixed by rule, which rule 12(1) of the Carriage by Road Rules, 2011 makes, for total loss, ten times the freight, never above the value declared in the goods forwarding note.
A show-cause notice from the Securities and Exchange Board of India opens a 60-day settlement window and, if penalty follows, a 45-day appeal
A show-cause notice from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) can end in an adjudication order under section 15-I of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (SEBI Act) or in a settlement.
Buying an antiquity in India turns on the seller's licence, registration where notified and the bar on private export, and a defect in any of them can cost the buyer the object
On our reading of section 2(1)(a) of the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 (the Act), a work of art or craftsmanship becomes an antiquity once it has been in existence for not less than one hundred years, and a manuscript or record of scientific, historical, literary or aesthetic value becomes one at seventy-five years.
In a drug company's insolvency resolution the licence and trial permission continue on payment of current dues, and the data retention clocks keep running
When a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company enters the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the Code), its drug manufacturing licence and clinical trial permission are not suspended or terminated on the ground of insolvency while current dues are paid, under the Explanation to section 14(1) inserted in 2020.
A bank guarantee is paid on a compliant demand, and a court stops payment only for a clear case of fraud, irretrievable injustice or special equities
An unconditional bank guarantee is a contract between the issuing bank and the beneficiary, separate from the contract it secures, so a demand that follows its terms obliges the bank to pay without weighing the dispute behind it.
A Karnataka school may charge only the fees the 1995 Rules prescribe, and a professional college only the fee a committee determines
A recognised private unaided school in Karnataka may levy only the fees prescribed under section 48 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, and a school that charges more faces a penalty of up to INR 10 lakh and an order to refund the excess under section 124A, imposed by the District Education Regulatory Authority after giving it an opportunity of being heard.
A company holding a dishonoured cheque: the section 138 timeline, the forum and the interim money
A company that is paid by cheque and finds it returned unpaid has a criminal complaint under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 only if four steps are taken in order: presentation of the cheque within its validity, a written demand within 30 days of the bank's return information, a 15 day wait for payment, and a complaint within one month after that wait ends.
How a financial creditor starts insolvency against a company under section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
A financial creditor starts corporate insolvency against a company by an application under section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 before the National Company Law Tribunal, resting on a default of at least INR 1 crore and, for allottees of a real estate project or creditors in a class under section 21(6A)(a) or (b), on a joint application by the lesser of 100 creditors or 10 per cent of the class.
A deepfake of your chief executive runs on a seven day clock, unless you hold a court order
The February 2026 amendment to the Information Technology Rules is reported as a three hour takedown rule.
The 15 Per Cent Shareholder: What a Company Petition Is Actually Worth
A minority shareholder who petitions the NCLT under section 241 and wins a buyout order still has to survive the arithmetic.
What an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder may and may not do in India: rights, property, work and cancellation
An Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder is a foreign national, and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notification S.O. 1050(E) of 4 March 2021, made under section 7B of the Citizenship Act, 1955, gives the cardholder a lifelong multiple-entry visa, parity with a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) on buying and selling immovable property other than agricultural land, a farm house or plantation property, and the rights of a foreigner in every other economic, financial and educational field.
What the India-UAE Bilateral Investment Treaty protects for a UAE investor in India, and what it leaves out
The India-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), signed at Abu Dhabi on 13 February 2024 and in force from 31 August 2024, protects a UAE investor's enterprise-based investment in India against denial of justice, fundamental breach of due process, targeted discrimination, manifestly abusive treatment and uncompensated expropriation.
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