Complete Guide on Legal Notice

Meaning of Legal Notice under Code of Civil Procedure, 1908: A Legal Notice is filed generally in civil cases. There is no filing of the legal notice in a criminal case, as in case of a criminal offence the act is done by the State against the person who commits the offence as State has supreme power. In case, you want to initiate a civil suit/ case against the Government you have to give a legal notice to the Government beforehand and only after that you can proceed to file a civil suit/ case against the Government.

Section 80 of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908: this section talks about sending a legal notice to the Government or public officer if a person wants to take legal action against the government for any act claimed to be done by such public officer during his course of official duty until the expiration of 2 (two) months. The purpose or reason behind the giving of notice is to give Secretary of State or the public officer a chance to evaluate his legal position and to offer some kind of compensation or benefit without going to a court of law.

 Why you should send Legal Notice:

1.      It saves time and also the cost of litigation if the parties are complying with the demand of the notice.

2.       It gives a prior acknowledgement to the party against whom the notice has been served that a suit is going to be initiated against him/her/them.

3.       It is a legal requirement/ obligation which should have been compiled for the purpose of initiation of the suit.

Contents of Legal Notice:

Essentially the legal notice it consists of the following things:

1.      Brief statement of the material facts which is giving rise to the claim;

2.      Relief sought by the plaintiff against each named defendant;

3.      Brief summary of the legal basis for the relief that is sought

 Steps to issue Legal Notice for Cheque Bounce

1. To send a legal notice for cheque bounce through an advocate is not compulsory, but taking the help of a good lawyer to send the legal notice can prove beneficial in many ways.

2. Since a legal notice is generally issued by an advocate on behalf of their client, however, it is not mandatory to send a legal notice for it as there is no specific provision/enactment of the law that makes it mandatory to issue one before filing a suit.

3. There is though a specific format of legal notice for cheque bounce that needs to be followed when you plan to resolve the issue with legal action.

Steps to issue Legal Notice for Consumer Dispute

1. Consumer notice should be sent through registered post only either registered post or Speed Post and the proof of dispatch, the receipt should be retained for future references and proof.

2. The name and address of the service provider as mentioned on the receipt should be clearly mentioned.

3. The name and address of the consumer should also be mentioned specifically on the consumer notice.

4. If the service provider has a website, portal and complaint section, please register the same content on the said portal as well.

5. Consumer notice can be issued against defective goods, non-providing of services as well.

Steps to Draft a Legal Notice to the builder: Below are the steps –

1. The legal notice must be drafted in the letterhead of an Advocate.

2. The legal notice should contain the name, address and contact details of the advocate.

3. It should contain all the communication details of the sender, such as name, contact number, address, etc.

4. It should be clearly mentioned in the notice how your right has been infringed due to the builder or his men and agent and for that what relief you want from him.

5. A specific direction in respect of the relief shouted by the sender must be given to the opposite party and time limit must be given.

6. The notice must be signed with the date by the Advocate.