These describe the real, official process for common Indian legal situations -- Aadhrix does not decide which one applies to you, or give advice specific to your case. Read the one closest to yours, then consider an advocate for anything more specific.
For a defective product, a refused refund, a service you paid for but did not get, or an online order that never arrived or arrived wrong -- the official redress path is a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, not a civil court.
A problem with something bought on Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, or a similar platform -- non-delivery, a wrong or damaged item, a refused refund, or a misleading price -- has its own faster, e-commerce-specific first steps before you need to file a formal complaint with a Consumer Commission. Every online platform has legal obligations that a physical shop does not.
For a SERVICE deficiency by your bank (wrong charges, harassment by a recovery agent, an ATM failure, a wrongly foreclosed loan, an account frozen without notice) -- not fraud -- complain first to the bank's own Grievance Redressal Officer, then escalate free of cost to the RBI's Integrated Ombudsman if unresolved in 30 days.
Applies when a cheque given to you to settle a debt or liability is dishonoured (bounced) by the bank -- the law provides a strict notice-then-complaint procedure to seek criminal punishment, compensation, and recovery.
Applies when a bank or NBFC's loan or credit-card recovery agent contacts a borrower outside permitted hours, uses threats or abusive language, or approaches the borrower's family, employer or neighbours. RBI treats an outsourced recovery agent's misconduct as the lender's own misconduct.
Applies when a credit report issued by a credit information company shows a loan or credit card as unpaid, defaulted, or overdue when it has actually been repaid or was never taken, or otherwise contains an error that has lowered the credit score. Both the lender that reported the data and the credit information company have statutory duties to correct it.
Applies when a bank or NBFC has issued, or threatens to issue, a notice under the SARFAESI Act, 2002 against a home, shop or other mortgaged property over a defaulted secured loan. The Act gives the borrower defined windows to repay, object, and approach the Debt Recovery Tribunal before possession or auction can proceed.
Applies when money invested in a chit fund, a cooperative society deposit scheme, or a similar collective scheme has been lost to fraud, mismanagement, or an outright Ponzi-style structure, or when a scheme is simply refusing to return matured deposits.
Covers registering and enforcing your own trademark against copying or counterfeiting, and what to do if you are accused of selling or using an infringing mark, including a raid, notice, or civil or criminal case.
Explains what to do if you're accused of using someone else's copyrighted work without permission, and separately, how a copyright owner can register, enforce, and stop someone from copying their own original work, under the Copyright Act, 1957.
For a landlord withholding your security deposit, a dispute over rent, or an eviction you believe is unlawful. Which law and forum apply depends entirely on whether your state has adopted the Model Tenancy Act, 2021.
For a dispute over land ownership, a boundary disagreement, or a revenue record (mutation, khata, patta) that doesn't match reality. Correcting a record and deciding who owns the land are two different processes.
Applies when a family member has died and their bank accounts, shares, pension dues, or immovable property -- with or without a will -- now need to be legally transferred to the surviving heirs.
When someone dies, a bank, insurance company, mutual fund, or demat account often pays out to whoever is named as 'nominee.' Indian courts have repeatedly held that a nominee is usually only a trustee -- someone authorised to collect the money -- and not automatically its legal owner. Who actually owns the money is decided separately, by the deceased's Will or by succession law. There is one real, narrow exception for certain life insurance nominees.
For divorce, maintenance, or child custody -- three legally separate reliefs, filed before the Family Court (or, where none exists, the District Court).
For a parent or senior citizen (60+) who wants their adult children -- or relatives who stand to inherit their property -- to pay for their upkeep, or who wants a property gift/transfer cancelled because a promise of care was broken.
Applies when a builder/developer of a RERA-covered project fails to hand over possession of a flat or unit by the date promised in the agreement for sale, giving the buyer a statutory right to a refund with interest, or to continue and claim interest for the delay period.
For a health, life, or general insurance claim that was rejected, delayed, or paid less than you expected -- or a cashless claim denied at the hospital.
Applies when a patient, or a deceased patient's family, believes an injury or death resulted from a doctor's or hospital's failure to meet the accepted standard of medical care -- not merely an unfavourable outcome despite properly performed, consented treatment. Three separate, non-exclusive routes exist: compensation, professional discipline, and, for gross cases, criminal prosecution.
For compensation after being injured, or after a death, in a road accident -- against the vehicle owner, driver, or their insurer, before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.
For a woman in an ongoing abusive domestic relationship (not a life-threatening emergency) who wants a Magistrate's order to stop the abuse, secure her right to stay in the home, get maintenance, custody, or compensation -- a civil remedy, separate from filing a police case.
For a married woman facing cruelty from her husband or his relatives -- the criminal prosecution track (successor to the old IPC s.498A), genuinely distinct from the civil Domestic Violence Act protection-order route and from divorce/maintenance proceedings, though all three can run together.
Applies specifically to giving, taking, or demanding dowry, and to harassment or threats connected with such a demand -- a distinct set of offences under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, separate from general cruelty by a husband or in-laws. Also covers the specific, more serious provisions that apply where a woman's death occurs in connection with a dowry demand.
Once a report of child sexual abuse has been made, POCSO sets out a specific legal process -- a mandatory FIR, child-friendly statement recording, a dedicated Special Court, and a victim compensation route -- distinct from an ordinary criminal case. This route covers that legal process, not the immediate-safety emergency response.
Two distinct, less-severe-than-rape offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: s.68 covers sexual intercourse obtained by abusing a position of authority or a fiduciary relationship, and s.69 covers sexual intercourse obtained through deceitful means, including a false promise of marriage. Both are filed and investigated like any other criminal offence -- through an ordinary police FIR, not a special forum.
Explains the criminal law framework governing rape and related sexual offences under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) ss.63-72 -- how a complaint is registered and investigated, the specific legal protections the law provides to a complainant during that process, and the real, narrow legal remedies available under Indian law to a person who has been named as an accused. This describes what the law provides and what courts have actually held, in both directions, from real judgments. It does not assess the facts of any specific situation or predict how a specific case will be decided.
For an online scam or fraud you discovered after the fact -- not money that just left your account minutes ago (call 1930 immediately for that instead).
Chakshu, a facility on the Department of Telecommunications' Sanchar Saathi portal, lets you report a suspected fraud call, SMS, or WhatsApp message -- including a fake 'digital arrest' call -- before any money is lost, so it can be investigated and the number blocked for others.
Applies when a citizen's computer, email, social media, or other online account was accessed, damaged, or taken over without permission, or their data was stolen -- separate from cases where money was actually taken via financial fraud, or where a known person is stalking or harassing you.
For being followed, monitored, or harassed online, or having a fake profile or an intimate image shared without consent -- distinct from the existing cyber_fraud_non_emergency route, which is scoped to money already lost.
The Supreme Court has held that privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21. If the government has violated it, you can go to court directly; if a private company has misused your personal data, a newer, separate law applies -- though its own complaint mechanism is not fully working yet.
For a false, damaging statement made about you -- in person, in print, or increasingly on social media -- India recognises both a criminal complaint and a separate civil suit for damages, and you can pursue either or both.
For a citizen being threatened, coerced, or extorted by a journalist, self-styled 'media person,' or someone claiming press credentials -- for example, a demand for money to avoid negative or false coverage -- distinct from cases where damaging content has already been published.
For someone already arrested, or fearing arrest, who wants to understand the LEGAL PROCESS of bail and which type applies -- not the immediate 24-hour rights every arrested person has (Aadhrix's own separate emergency arrest-rights guidance covers that).
For someone who believes an FIR registered against them is false, motivated, or an abuse of the criminal process -- covers quashing, anticipatory bail, escalating a police refusal to register or investigate fairly, and action against a mala fide complainant.
Applies when someone's phone, vehicle, or other movable property has been stolen, snatched, or taken by force, or when a house or shop has been broken into. The key point most people don't know: a cognizable offence like this can be reported at any police station, not only the one covering the area where it happened.
Applies when a citizen has been hit or injured by another person -- a neighbour dispute, a fight, or a workplace altercation -- and is not about domestic violence or a sexual offence, which are handled as separate situations. Covers reporting the offence, the medico-legal process at a hospital, and the current BNS provisions on hurt and grievous hurt.
Applies when a citizen has reported a cognizable offence to the police, but the police refuse to register it, delay it indefinitely, or turn the complainant away. Indian law treats FIR registration for a cognizable offence as mandatory, not discretionary, and provides a defined escalation path when that duty is not followed.
Applies to a parent or guardian whose child under 18 has been detained by the police or accused of an offence. A child is dealt with through the Juvenile Justice Board, a process distinct from an adult criminal court, with specific procedural protections, though a narrow exception allows a 16-18 year old accused of a serious offence to eventually be tried as an adult after a formal assessment.
Applies to anyone being questioned, searched, or arrested by police without a warrant for any cognizable offence -- explains when arrest is actually permitted, the notice-of-appearance alternative, and the real safeguards the law gives during arrest.
Applies when police get involved in what is fundamentally a civil matter -- a property possession dispute, an unpaid loan or business debt, or a tenancy disagreement -- and pressure, threaten, or detain a party to force a 'settlement,' even though no genuine criminal offence is made out.
Explains the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 -- what conduct it addresses and who it protects -- alongside the specific legal safeguards, bail rules, and remedies the law itself provides for a person named as an accused in such a case.
An arrest for possessing cannabis (ganja/charas) or another drug is governed by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 -- a far stricter regime than an ordinary criminal charge. The single most important fact is the QUANTITY involved: it decides which bail rules apply, how hard bail actually is to get, and how severe the sentence can be.
For unpaid salary, wrongful termination without notice or dues, or an employer not depositing your Provident Fund.
Covers three related situations at a UGC- or AICTE-regulated higher education institution: a fee-refund dispute after withdrawing from or cancelling admission to a course, an admission cancelled by the institution in a manner the student or parent considers unfair, or a ragging incident.
Applies when an athlete faces an anti-doping charge, a dispute over an age-verification (bone/skeletal age) test used to check eligibility for age-group sport, or an allegation of using a fake age, caste, or domicile certificate to gain sports eligibility.
To formally ask a government department or public authority for information they hold -- an enforceable legal right, with strict statutory response deadlines.
For Aadhaar details not updating, a failed fingerprint/biometric check at a bank or ration shop, a linking failure, or a privacy/data grievance -- most demographic updates can be done online, but biometric updates and failed verifications need a visit to an Aadhaar Seva Kendra.
Covers the common notices an individual taxpayer receives after filing a return. For the current filing cycle these are issued under the Income-tax Act, 1961, since the new Income-tax Act, 2025 governs only income earned from 1 April 2026 onward.
For a candidate or voter who believes a local body election -- Gram Panchayat, Zila Parishad, Municipal Corporation, or Municipality -- was wrongly decided, due to a rejected nomination, bribery, or a counting irregularity. These elections are run by each state's own State Election Commission, and can only be challenged through a formal election petition after the result is declared -- never a writ petition while the election is still underway.
For a traffic e-challan you believe was wrongly issued, a driving-licence points/suspension notice, or general confusion about the revised Motor Vehicles Act penalty structure -- one of the most frequently faced legal encounters for Indian drivers and vehicle owners.
Applies when you have received a formal written legal notice from an advocate, company, individual, or authority asserting a claim or demand -- covers what a legal notice actually is, whether you must reply, and what happens if you don't.
India runs a real, government-funded three-tier legal aid system -- NALSA at the national level, SLSAs in every state, and DLSAs in every district -- that provides a panel lawyer, court fees, and document costs at no cost to eligible citizens.
A real, government-organised forum where a pending court case, or a dispute that hasn't reached court yet, can be settled quickly and amicably by mutual agreement -- an award is as binding as a court decree, with no appeal, but a Lok Adalat can only record a genuine settlement, never impose its own decision.