Court
Handled by Advocate N. J. Parmar, B.A., LL.B., more than thirty-five years at the Bar. Court practice and notaryship run together: under section 3 of the Notaries Act, 1952 read with Rule 3 of the Notaries Rules, 1956, notaries are appointed from among advocates of long standing, and the application is routed through the court where the advocate practises.
What these matters are usually about
- Defective goods and refusal to repair, replace or refund
- Deficiency in service — the largest category by far
- Builders and developers — delayed possession, changed specifications, area shortfall, refusal to execute the conveyance
- Insurance — repudiated claims, and repudiations based on conditions never explained at the proposal stage
- Banks and financial services — unauthorised charges, mis-selling, wrongful reporting
- Hospitals and professional services
- Unfair trade practices and misleading representations
The invoice, the warranty, the policy document, the brochure or advertisement relied on, the written complaints and the replies. Where a promise was made verbally by a salesperson and nothing was written down, the complaint becomes very much harder. Keep everything, and put every complaint in writing even when the matter seems to be progressing on the phone.
Send a demand notice first
It frequently resolves the matter, it costs little, and where it does not, the notice and the absence of any substantive reply become useful evidence before the Commission. Legal notice drafting →
Which forum, and limitation
Jurisdiction between the District and State Commissions depends on value, and there is a period within which a complaint must be filed, running from when the cause of action arose. Both need checking at the outset. A complaint filed in the wrong forum or out of time loses on a preliminary point without the merits ever being reached.
Where a claim is time-barred, where the document relied on was never registered and therefore cannot be received in evidence of the transaction under section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908, or where the realistic recovery is less than the cost of recovering it — you will be told at the first meeting, not after money has been spent. A settlement reached quickly is very often worth more than a decree obtained slowly.
What to bring
- Every document you have, including the unhelpful ones
- Photo ID
- A dated account of what has happened
- Any notice or court paper already received or sent
- Invoice, receipt, policy or agreement
- Warranty, brochure or advertisement relied on
- All written complaints and replies
- Photographs or reports evidencing the defect