Motor accident compensation claims
A claim before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal seeks compensation for injury, permanent disability or death arising from a road accident, typically pursued against the driver, the vehicle owner and the insurer together. Compensation is assessed on factors including the victim's age, income, the extent of disability, and, in a fatal claim, dependency of the family left behind. Medical records, income proof and, where relevant, a disability assessment are the documents that carry the most weight, and gathering them promptly after the accident, rather than months later, makes a material difference to how the claim is presented.
Succession, wills and probate
Where a person dies leaving a will, the executor or a beneficiary may need to obtain probate, a court's formal recognition of the will's validity, before it can be fully acted upon in certain circumstances, particularly for property in Delhi. Where a person dies without a will, succession follows the applicable personal law, such as the Hindu Succession Act 1956, and a succession certificate may be needed to deal with debts and securities left behind. Disputes in this area are often as much about family relationships as about documents, and they are usually best approached with an early, candid assessment of how strong the underlying claim actually is, since prolonged succession litigation can consume more than the estate is worth in the meantime.
Defamation, in print and online
A defamation claim can proceed as a civil suit for damages and injunction, a criminal complaint, or occasionally both, depending on what the client wants to achieve, whether that is compensation, a retraction, or simply preventing further publication. Truth is generally a defence to a civil claim, though establishing it convincingly requires solid supporting material rather than assertion. Where the statement was published online, preserving evidence of the publication promptly, including the exact text, date and platform, matters a great deal, since online content can be edited or removed before a formal record is made of it.
Banking disputes outside SARFAESI
Not every disagreement with a bank falls under the SARFAESI Act's summary recovery mechanism. Disputes over the correctness of a loan account, wrongful invocation of a guarantee, or the bank's conduct in operating an account are often better pursued as an ordinary civil suit or, in some cases, before the banking ombudsman, before escalating further. For a dispute that specifically concerns a dishonoured cheque, see the discussion of Negotiable Instruments Act complaints on our criminal law page, and for a dispute over a secured loan under enforcement proceedings, the relevant recovery law is addressed separately from what is covered here.
