This hub contains all articles related to how law in India.
How Law Guide is a legal concept under Indian jurisprudence. Understanding its provisions, procedure, and implications is essential for protecting your legal rights. Advocate Panchanand Shaw provides expert legal guidance on this and related matters.
The process involves filing appropriate applications before the competent court, presenting evidence, and following procedural laws. Each case has unique facts that affect the outcome. Consult Advocate Panchanand Shaw for case-specific advice.
Legal representation is strongly recommended as procedural requirements are complex and missing a step can prejudice your case. An experienced advocate ensures proper filing, presentation, and advocacy. Contact Advocate Panchanand Shaw in Kolkata.
Most people lose time on the wrong forum. This page maps common problems to the court that ordinarily hears them, and sets out how to assemble a usable case file before you approach anyone.
| Your problem | Usual forum | First step |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce, maintenance, custody | Family Court | Gather marriage and income documents; decide contested or mutual |
| Criminal allegation, FIR, arrest | Magistrate or Sessions Court | Obtain the FIR and seek bail without delay |
| Cyber fraud, hacking, online abuse | Cyber crime cell and Magistrate | Report online and preserve screenshots and transaction details |
| Land or property dispute | City Civil Court or High Court | Collect title, mutation and possession records |
| Tenant refusing to vacate | Civil court for eviction | Serve a notice terminating the tenancy |
| Consumer complaint against a seller or hospital | District Consumer Commission | Issue a written complaint and preserve the invoice |
| Cheque dishonour | Magistrate | Send the statutory demand notice within the prescribed period |
| Insurance claim rejected | Grievance cell, Insurance Ombudsman, then Consumer Commission | Get the written repudiation letter and the policy |
| Arbitral dispute | Arbitrator and then the court under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 | Check the arbitration clause before filing a suit |
| Government or departmental order | Writ petition before the High Court | Obtain a certified copy of the order and any appellate remedy |
A short first consultation usually saves far more in costs than it costs. If you are unsure which forum applies to your problem in Kolkata or elsewhere in West Bengal, a free initial assessment will point you to the right one. Call Advocate Panchanand Shaw at +91-9007000603, or see the full range of practice areas.
A judgment is not read from the beginning. It is read for the question, the holding and the reason, in that order. The facts are long and usually irrelevant beyond the first two pages of the narrative. The parties' arguments restate what each side wanted. What decides the next case of the same kind is a single paragraph in which the court states the rule it applies, and that paragraph is the one to find and to quote accurately.
| Term | What it is | How much it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Ratio decidendi | The rule without which the decision could not have been reached | Binding on the lower courts within the hierarchy |
| Obiter dicta | A remark made in passing, not necessary to the decision | Persuasive only |
| Per incuriam | A decision given in ignorance of a binding statute or judgment | Not binding, and can be distinguished |
| Sub silentio | A point that passed without argument or conscious determination | Not a precedent on that point |
| Distinguishing | Showing the facts of the present case fall outside the rule applied earlier | The standard method by which a precedent is avoided |
The decisions of the Supreme Court are published on its own website, and the decisions of the Calcutta High Court are published on the High Court website and on the National Judicial Data Grid. Orders of the district and city courts are accessible through the e-courts services portal, where a matter can be traced by case number, by the name of a party or by the advocate. Where a judgment is unreported, a certified copy is obtained from the copying department of the court that passed it, and the application is made with the case number and the date of the order.
A statute is read with its schedule where it has one, and with the definition section first, because a term used throughout the Act is given its meaning there. The marginal note is a guide to the subject and not part of the enactment. The provisos and the exceptions that follow a section are as important as the section, and a reading that stops at the main clause usually misses the case that was carved out. Where a section has been amended, the text in force on the date of the act governs, which means checking the amendment history rather than the current consolidated text alone.