Legal Notice Drafting
A legal notice is a formal written demand that tells the other side what you want and by when, before anyone goes to court. We draft it for your review, and a practising advocate signs and sends it. Suing the government? Section 80 CPC requires two months’ notice first.
What it is
A legal notice is a letter with consequences. It sets out the facts and the legal basis of your claim, with a deadline to act. If the other party pays or puts things right, the matter ends. If not, the notice becomes the first document in your court file.
No single law governs every legal notice, and for most disputes it is optional. A few laws make it compulsory: Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) against the government, Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 for a bounced cheque, and Section 8 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) for an operational creditor.
We draft the notice, or your reply, for your review and approval. The final notice and any court filing must be signed by a practising advocate.
Who it applies to
You are owed money
Say a Ballabgarh fabrication unit’s last few invoices to a builder are unpaid, though it has probably paid the GST on them already through its GST returns. A notice with a ledger statement and a deadline gets the money moving.
A cheque given to you bounced
The Section 138 demand must go within 30 days of the bank telling you the cheque came back unpaid. Here, speed beats polish.
A contract has been broken
A supplier took your advance and never delivered. Or a buyer cancelled after you made the goods. The notice records the breach and your remedy.
You want a tenant to leave
A month-to-month lease ends on 15 days’ notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, unless your agreement or a local law says otherwise.
Your claim is against the government
Suing the government, or a public officer over an official act, needs a Section 80 CPC notice and a two-month wait.
You have received a notice
Picture a Faridabad trading company served a notice by a former distributor claiming commission. The reply must answer every allegation, agreement and ledger in hand.
Why it matters
Settle without a court case
A clear notice shows you are organised and serious. Faced with the facts and a deadline on one page, many parties pay or come to talk.
Build your court record
The notice and its postal tracking report prove that you made a demand, and when. Courts look for exactly that.
Meet a legal precondition
A suit against the government needs a Section 80 notice unless the court gives leave. A cheque bounce complaint needs a valid demand notice first.
Documents required
About the parties
- Full legal names and current addresses of both sides
- For a company or LLP: CIN or LLPIN and registered office
- Board resolution or authority letter for the person instructing us
- The other side’s email and mobile number, if known
About the dispute
- Agreement, purchase order, quotation or offer letter
- Invoices, ledger statement and delivery challans
- Emails, WhatsApp chats and letters exchanged
- Bank statements showing payments made or received
If you are replying
- The notice received, with proof of when it reached you
- Your version of events, in date order
- Documents that contradict their claim
What a legal notice contains
A good notice reads like a short case file. Ours follow this order:
- The sender and the recipient, with full addresses (for a company, its registered office).
- The facts, in date order, with references to the agreement, invoices or letters.
- The legal basis: the contract clause or section of law breached.
- The demand: the exact amount with interest, or the act required, such as delivery or vacating premises.
- A deadline, and what you will do if it is missed.
- The advocate’s signature, the date and the mode of dispatch.
Here is the catch: whatever the notice claims will be read against you later. If it demands one amount and your suit claims another, expect questions. So we reconcile your ledger first, and clean book-keeping records make that quick.
Section 80 CPC: notices to the government
Before you sue the Central Government, a State Government or a public officer for an act done in an official capacity, Section 80(1) CPC requires a written notice and a wait of two months after it is delivered or left at the office. For the Central Government, the notice goes to a Secretary to that Government (for a railway, its General Manager); for a State, to a Secretary to that Government or the district Collector.
The notice must state the cause of action, your name, description and place of residence, and the relief you claim; the plaint must later say it was delivered. Section 80(2) allows an urgent suit without notice only with the court’s leave. Section 80(3) saves a suit from dismissal over a technical defect in the notice if the essentials are clear.
In practice, take a Faridabad civil contractor whose security deposit is still held by a State department long after handover. The two months run from delivery, so we diarise the date the notice reached the office, not the posting date. Section 15(2) of the Limitation Act, 1963 then excludes the notice period when limitation is counted.
How it works
Tell us what happened
Share your documents and a short timeline. We ask the awkward questions now, like what you can actually prove.
Check the law and the limitation date
We confirm which law applies and how much time is left to sue. An ordinary notice does not pause limitation, so an old claim may need a suit, not a letter.
Draft the notice for your review
You get a draft to read and correct. Nothing goes out until you approve it.
Sign and send it the right way
A practising advocate signs the final notice. It goes by Speed Post or registered post with acknowledgement due to every known address, plus email. Hand delivery against a dated acknowledgement also works. The receipts and tracking printout prove delivery.
Track the deadline and plan the next step
When the deadline passes, we review the reply, or the silence, and lay out your options, from settling to suing through your advocate.
Timelines
Set a fair deadline in an ordinary notice
No statute fixes the reply period for a routine demand. The notice names one. Make it reasonable for what you ask.
Wait two months before suing the government
Under Section 80(1) CPC, the suit waits two months from the date the notice is delivered to, or left at, the office.
Meet the short statutory windows
A cheque bounce notice must go within 30 days of the bank’s information, and the drawer has 15 days to pay. An IBC Section 8 demand gives a company 10 days to raise a dispute or prove payment.
What happens if they don’t respond
File a civil suit for recovery
Silence is not a decree; only a court can make the other side pay. If the claim rests on a written contract or a promissory note, a summary suit under Order XXXVII CPC may apply, where the defendant needs leave to defend.
Try mediation first for commercial claims
For a commercial dispute of ₹3 lakh or more, Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 requires pre-institution mediation first, unless you need urgent interim relief.
Take a company to the NCLT
An operational creditor with a default of ₹1 crore or more can apply to the NCLT under the IBC once 10 days pass with no payment or dispute.
Frequently asked questions
Is a legal notice compulsory before filing a case?
For most civil disputes it is not compulsory, but it is wise. It is mandatory under Section 80 CPC before suing the government, Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act for a bounced cheque, Section 8 of the IBC for operational creditors, and Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act to end a lease. Elsewhere, a notice still strengthens your file.
Can I send a legal notice myself, without an advocate?
Yes, for most notices no law requires an advocate; even a Section 138 cheque demand can come from the payee personally. In our service, though, the notice goes out under a practising advocate’s signature, so the same advocate can take the matter to court if needed. We draft it, and the advocate signs only after you approve every word.
How many days does the other side get to reply?
For an ordinary notice, the notice itself sets the period; no general law fixes one. Statutory notices differ: two months for the government under Section 80 CPC, 15 days for a cheque drawer to pay under Section 138, and 10 days for a company to dispute an IBC Section 8 demand. We pick a period that is fair and safe for your limitation date.
What is the safest way to send a legal notice?
Registered post or Speed Post with acknowledgement due, to the correct address, is the safest. Under Section 27 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, a letter properly addressed, prepaid and sent by registered post is presumed served unless the contrary is proved. Add an email copy and keep the postal receipt and tracking report. With that trail, proving delivery is straightforward.
What if the other side refuses to accept the notice?
Refusing the envelope does not, by itself, defeat the notice. The Section 27 presumption still applies to a correctly addressed registered letter, and the addressee must prove otherwise. In cheque cases, the Supreme Court held in C.C. Alavi Haji (2007) that a drawer claiming non-receipt can pay within 15 days of the court summons; one who does not pay cannot then dispute service. Your notice stands.
I have received a legal notice. What should I do?
Do not ignore it, and do not reply in anger on WhatsApp. Note the deadline, gather your agreement, invoices and messages, and send them to us. We draft a point-by-point reply that admits nothing you dispute, for your review before a practising advocate signs it. A measured reply within the deadline protects you if the dispute reaches court.
Does a legal notice stop the limitation period?
No, an ordinary demand notice does not pause limitation for a suit. The exception is a notice the law requires before suing, such as a Section 80 CPC notice: Section 15(2) of the Limitation Act, 1963 excludes that notice period. Courts have refused this benefit where the notice was not legally required. So for an old claim, we check the limitation date first and act early.
Can I sue the government without a Section 80 notice?
Only with the court’s leave, and only for urgent or immediate relief. Section 80(2) CPC allows such a suit, but the court grants no relief until the government has had a reasonable opportunity to show cause. If the court finds no urgency after hearing both sides, it returns the plaint for presentation after notice. For most claims, sending the notice first is simpler.
What it costs
Our fee plus the government fee that applies to your case, quoted before you commit. Tell us the situation and we will price it exactly.
Ready to begin?
Send us the papers and a short timeline, and we will draft the notice for your review.