Civil law

An Indemnity Bond is a contract in which one party promises the other from any loss caused to him by the conduct of the person who promises or any other person. It is called a Contract of Indemnity, under Section 124 of the Contract Act, 1872.

Every suit shall be instituted by presenting a plaint in duplicate to the court which has jurisdiction to try the suit and is the lowest in grade competent to try it. The detailed rules, governing the presentation of a plaint, are included in Order VI and VII of the Civil Procedure Code, 1973 (CPC).

The precise objective of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (SRA) is to enable the party to get some special remedies or reliefs, other than the usual reliefs such as damages or compensation in monetary terms, which the contract act provides in breach of a contractual obligation by a party to it.

One common misconception is that a criminal court alone can issue warrant to enforce attendance of a witness. But a civil court also can issue warrant and commit a person to civil prison. That can be done only after issuing summons or proclamation.

The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 (HMGA) and the Guardians and Ward Act, 1890 (GWA) are the two acts that deal with guardianship. Both the acts define the rights, obligations, relations between adults and minors. The GWA applies to everyone regardless of caste, creed, or community and it includes the procedure on how to petition courts for the appointment of a guardian. The HMGA has an overriding effect in regard to all other laws relating to guardianship, as per Section 5 of the HMGA.

The court, on an application by a party, can appoint or declared a guardian for a ward. The purpose is to ensure the welfare of the minor and take care of the ward’s person and property, as per the Guardian and Wards Act, 1890 (GWA).

The owner or the person in custody of any paddy land or wet land in Kerala shall not have any power to convert or reclaim such lands, since the enactment of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 (2008 Act) on 12th August 2008 and the allied rules enacted in 2008. The removal of sand from wetland is also prohibited by the 2008 Act. However, there are two exceptions to this general rule. One is that the owner of the land can seek permission to convert paddy land and construct a residence, and the other is conversion of land for public purposes.

Permanent Lok Adalat (PLA) is a judicial body consisting of one judicial officer and two technical officers. Its purpose is to consider and decide the disputes relating to public utility services such as transport, Post and telegraph, sanitation and public conveyance, conservancy, hospital, dispensary service and insurance.

No law exists in India that provides for a mechanism or procedure to appoint for a person in comatose state. However, there is a law that provides for appointment of guardian for a minor as well as the persons with disabilities like mental retardation.

A recent judgement of the High Court says in Bosco Leuis v State of Kerala, t is the prerogative of the building owner to decide whether to levy parking fee from the customers. The judgement says that if the building owner decides to levy fees it can be done after obtaining a licence from the local authority under Section 447 of the Kerala Municipality Act.

The laws in India prohibit employment of children in labour, provides for punishment for any violation but do not altogether disallow their employment. Certain forms of work done by children like running a family business or performing as a child artist, etc. are allowed under certain conditions.

A caveat can be filed in respect of an application to be made or has been made in a suit or proceeding instituted at or to be instituted by another person, in a court. The Section 148 A of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) provides for filing a caveat. The person who files the caveat is called a caveator.