Legal Guides

All guides

Also useful: the twelve practice area guides, ten city guides, our free legal calculators and the latest legal news.

Each guide in a nutshell

Short of time? These summaries give you the spine of each guide. Open the full guide when you are ready to act.

Filing for divorce

There are two roads. If both spouses agree, they file a joint petition after living apart for the required period, appear for a first motion, and return for a second motion when the waiting period ends or is waived; the court then grants the decree. If one spouse objects, the spouse who wants out has to petition alone and prove a legally recognised ground, serve it, face a written reply, lead evidence and argue, which can take years. Along the way, the court can order interim maintenance and decide custody and visitation. The guide explains where to file, which documents to gather and the mistakes that weaken a case, such as leaving the home without advice or making allegations that cannot be proved.

Applying for bail

Bail depends first on the offence. For bailable offences, release is a right once bail bonds are furnished. For non-bailable offences, the court weighs the gravity of the accusation, the evidence, the chance of flight and the risk of tampering with witnesses. An application can also be made before any arrest, asking the court to order release if the police do arrest. Default bail arises if the police do not file a chargesheet within the period the law fixes. The usual order is the magistrate or sessions court first, and then the High Court. The guide covers sureties, conditions, what happens if conditions are broken, and the documents to carry.

Registering property

Registration is the last step of a purchase, not the first. Before it come title checks, encumbrance searches, approvals and agreeing the price. Duty is charged on whichever is more, the agreed price or the official valuation for that locality, and is paid by e-stamp. The deed is presented before the sub-registrar with the buyer, seller and witnesses present, biometric details are taken, and the registered deed is returned. TDS on the purchase price applies above the threshold, and mutation in municipal or land records follows registration. The guide explains each step and the papers involved.

Filing a consumer complaint

Start by writing to the seller or service provider and, if that fails, registering a grievance with the National Consumer Helpline. If the problem remains, file a complaint on e-Jagriti before the district, state or national commission depending on the value of goods or services paid for, within two years of the cause of action. You can argue your own case. The commission issues notice, the other side replies, evidence is filed largely by affidavit, and the commission orders a refund, replacement, compensation or costs where it finds a deficiency or unfair practice.

Filing an RTI application

Any citizen can ask a public authority for information. Write a clear, specific request to the Public Information Officer, pay the small fee or claim exemption if below the poverty line, and file it online or on paper. The officer must reply within thirty days, or forty-eight hours where life or liberty is involved. If there is no reply or the reply is inadequate, file a first appeal within the department, and then a second appeal or complaint before the Information Commission. The guide explains exemptions, third-party information and how to frame questions that get answers.

Understanding legal fees

Advocates charge in several ways: a fixed fee for a task, a fee per appearance, a stage-wise fee or, for some advisory work, by time. Court fee, stamp duty, copying charges and travel are separate. Bar Council rules prohibit fees tied to the result. The guide explains what drives costs, how to ask for a written estimate, GST on legal services and when free legal aid is available.

Choosing an advocate

The right advocate is one who regularly appears in the forum that will hear your matter, communicates clearly and agrees the work and fee in writing. The guide covers checking enrolment, asking about experience, reading the warning signs, the vakalatnama and your rights as a client, and when to change advocates.

Posting your case online

Write what happened, where, and what you want, without sharing sensitive numbers. It reaches nearby advocates in the relevant field first, and none of them sees your number unless they choose to take the matter. The guide explains what to write, privacy, urgent matters, what happens if no one accepts, and how to track your request.

Guides by life event

Old and new criminal law sections

Many documents, older judgments and people still refer to IPC and CrPC section numbers. Offences committed before 1 July 2024 continue under the old laws, while later ones fall under the new codes. These are some of the most searched equivalents.

The wording of several provisions changed along with the numbers, so check the new text rather than assuming it is identical.

Legal documents you may receive, and what to do

Reading a judgment and its citation

Guides often refer to judgments by name and citation. A citation tells you where the judgment is reported and when. Supreme Court judgments now carry a neutral citation in the form of the year, the letters INSC and a number, which makes them easy to find on the court's website. Older judgments are cited from law reports. When reading a judgment, look first at the headnote or summary, then at the issues the court framed, and finally at its conclusions. Remember that what binds later courts is the reasoning necessary to decide the case, not every remark made along the way, and that a later judgment by a larger bench can change the position.

Special protections for particular groups

Indian law gives certain groups additional protection or easier access to justice. Knowing these can change what you ask for.

• Women. Free legal aid regardless of income, protection orders under the domestic violence law, workplace harassment committees, and restrictions on arrest after sunset except in exceptional cases.
• Children. Child-friendly procedures under the POCSO and juvenile justice laws, special courts, and child welfare committees for children in need of care.
• Senior citizens. A simple maintenance tribunal, the power to undo property transfers made on a promise of care, and priority listing in many courts.
• Persons with disabilities. Rights under the 2016 disabilities law, including reasonable accommodation, and free legal aid.
• Workers. Wage, gratuity and social security rights under the labour codes, and free legal aid for industrial workers.
• Members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Special courts and protections under the Atrocities Act, and free legal aid.
• People in custody. The right to a lawyer, to be produced before a magistrate within twenty-four hours, and to free legal aid.
• Consumers. Cheaper, faster commissions and the right to file where they live.

Myths about the legal system

Writing a complaint that gets action

Whether you are writing to the police, a bank, a company or a government office, the same principles make a complaint harder to ignore and more useful later as evidence.

• One page if possible. Lead with what you want done, then the facts in date order.
• Specifics, not adjectives. Dates, amounts, transaction numbers, names and places carry weight; words like "harassment" or "cheating" mean little without facts.
• Attach proof. Copies, never originals, of receipts, messages and earlier complaints.
• Address the right person. The grievance officer, station house officer or public information officer named for that purpose.
• Ask for an acknowledgement. A complaint number, receiving stamp or email reply proves it was made.
• Set a reasonable deadline and say what you will do next if it passes.
• Escalate in order. From the front office to the senior officer, then the regulator, ombudsman or court.

Costs beyond the lawyer's fee

Recent changes reflected in these guides

When a change like these takes effect, cases already under way may continue under the old law while new ones follow the new law, so always check which law applies to the date of your transaction or offence. Each guide shows the date it was last reviewed. Follow legal news for judgments and changes as they happen.

Your rights as a client

When you engage an advocate, you are entitled to certain things, whatever the size of the matter.

• To be kept informed. You should know the next date, what happened at each hearing and any deadline you must meet.
• To see what is filed. Ask for copies of everything filed in your name before or after filing.
• To give instructions. Decisions such as settling, withdrawing or appealing are yours, made with your advocate's advice.
• To confidentiality. What you tell your advocate for the case is protected.
• To a clear fee arrangement and receipts for what you pay.
• To change advocates and to receive your papers when you do.
• To complain to the State Bar Council about professional misconduct.

Legal help outside the big cities

People in small towns and villages often feel far from legal help, and travelling to a district headquarters for every question costs money and a day's wages. Several routes now bring help closer, and most cost nothing to use.

• District courts and legal aid offices exist in every district headquarters, and many taluka or tehsil courts have legal aid clinics.
• Para-legal volunteers trained by legal services authorities work in villages and can guide you to help.
• Tele-Law connects people at common service centres with lawyers by video.
• Revenue offices at the tehsil handle land record corrections and mutations without a court case.
• Mara Vakil routes requests from any town to advocates nearby first, then across the state.

Neighbour disputes: common problems and the usual routes

Disputes with neighbours are among the most common and most draining legal problems, partly because the parties keep living side by side. Choosing the lightest effective route matters.

Mediation works particularly well in neighbour disputes, because the parties usually need to agree on how they will live together afterwards.

Looking after elderly parents: the legal side

Caring for ageing parents brings its own legal questions, and a little planning prevents painful disputes between siblings later.

• Maintenance. Parents who cannot maintain themselves can claim maintenance from children before the maintenance tribunal under the 2007 senior citizens law, without needing a lawyer.
• Property given on a promise of care. If a parent transfers property to a child on the condition of being looked after, and that care is not given, the transfer can be declared void.
• Managing money. A power of attorney or joint bank operation lets a trusted child handle routine matters if a parent becomes frail, but should be set up while the parent fully understands it.
• A will. A clear will, with reasons for any unequal division, avoids most later disputes.
• Medical decisions. Indian law now recognises advance medical directives, letting a person record wishes about life-prolonging treatment in advance.
• Abuse. Elder abuse can be reported to the police and to Elderline 14567.

Common legal terms explained

Vakalatnama

The written authority you sign to let an advocate appear and act for you in a case.

Plaint

The document that starts a civil suit, setting out the facts and the relief claimed.

Written statement

The defendant's formal reply to a plaint.

Affidavit

A sworn written statement of facts, used as evidence or in support of an application.

Caveat

A notice asking a court to hear you before passing any order in a case the other side may file.

Ex parte

A hearing or order made in the absence of one side, usually because they did not appear.

Injunction

A court order to do or stop doing something, which can be temporary or permanent.

Stay

An order pausing a proceeding or the effect of another order.

Adjournment

Postponement of a hearing to a later date.

Cause list

The schedule a court publishes, usually the evening before, showing which matters come up in which courtroom.

Certified copy

An official copy of an order or document issued by the court, needed for appeals.

Decree

The formal expression of a civil court's decision on the rights of the parties.

Execution

The process of enforcing a decree, for example by attaching property.

Summons

A court's order requiring a person to appear or produce documents.

Warrant

A written order authorising the police to arrest a person or search a place.

Cognizable offence

An offence where the police can register an FIR and arrest without a court's warrant.

Chargesheet

The police report filed in court at the end of an investigation, setting out the evidence.

Surety

A person who guarantees that an accused released on bail will attend court.

Limitation

The time limit within which a case, appeal or application must be filed.

Condonation of delay

A court's decision to accept a late filing for sufficient reason.

Lok Adalat

A forum where cases are settled by agreement, with the settlement treated as a decree.

Mediation

A structured negotiation with a neutral mediator to help parties reach a settlement.

How these guides are written and kept current

Each guide is drafted by the Mara Vakil editorial team from the text of the relevant Acts and rules and from Supreme Court and High Court judgments. We avoid copying from other websites and write in plain English for people without legal training. Guides are reviewed when a law, rule or important judgment changes, and the date of the last review is shown on each page. We do not accept payment from advocates to be mentioned in guides, and we do not rank or rate lawyers. Read our editorial policy to learn more, and write to help@maravakil.in if you spot an error.

Helplines worth saving in your phone

The Help Center has more helplines and quick guides to your rights.

Mediation and Lok Adalats: how they actually work

Mediation

The mediator, a neutral person trained for the role, talks with the parties jointly and one at a time so they can work out terms themselves. The mediator does not decide who is right. Discussions are confidential and cannot be used in court if mediation fails. Courts refer many family, money and property disputes to court-annexed mediation centres, and commercial suits generally require mediation before filing. If the parties agree, the settlement is written down and placed before the court, which can make it binding.

Lok Adalat

A Lok Adalat is a bench, usually of a judicial officer with a lawyer or social worker, that helps parties settle pending or pre-litigation disputes. National Lok Adalats are held on fixed days across the country. Bank recovery, cheque bounce, accident claims, electricity and water bills and family disputes are common. An award is final and binding, with no appeal, and court fee paid on a pending case that settles there is refunded. Because there is no appeal, read the terms carefully before agreeing.

Your basic rights in everyday legal situations

Many people learn their rights only after something has gone wrong. These short lists cover situations that arise most often.

If the police arrest you

• You must be told the grounds of arrest, and for a bailable offence, that you can be released on bail.
• A relative or friend you name must be informed of the arrest and where you are held.
• You may meet an advocate during interrogation, though not necessarily throughout it.
• You must be produced before a magistrate within twenty-four hours, excluding travel time.
• You are entitled to a medical examination, and a woman should ordinarily be arrested only between sunrise and sunset, by or in the presence of a woman officer.

If you are reporting a crime

• The police must register an FIR for a cognizable offence, and a "zero FIR" can be lodged at whichever police station you reach first, which then forwards it to the station with jurisdiction.
• You are entitled to a free copy of the FIR.
• For certain offences, information can be given electronically and signed within three days.

As a consumer

• You can complain about defective goods, deficient services, unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements.
• Complaints can be filed where you live, and you can argue your own case.

As a tenant or landlord

• Eviction of a tenant needs a lawful ground and, in most cases, an order from the rent authority or court; cutting off water or electricity to force someone out is not allowed.
• Rent and deposit terms in a written agreement are enforceable, subject to the state's tenancy law.

As an employee

• Wages must be paid on time and without unauthorised deductions under the wage code.
• Every workplace with ten or more employees must have an internal committee to handle sexual harassment complaints.

Frequently asked questions about these legal guides

This page gives general information about Indian law as of 15 October 2026. It is not legal advice and is not an advertisement or solicitation by any advocate, as restricted by Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. Laws and court practice change, and the right answer depends on your facts; confirm the position for your case with an advocate before acting. Mara Vakil is a technology platform, not a law firm. Read our disclaimer.