Postponement of a hearing to a later date, on the court's own motion or at a party's request.
See alsoCause listPart-heard
Glossary
Indian legal terms, in plain language.
54 terms an Indian practice actually uses — each defined plainly and linked to the provision that gives it meaning. Free, and always will be.
54 terms
A
A direction that a person be released on bail if arrested, sought before the arrest happens, where there is reason to apprehend it.
Section 482, BNSS 2023 (formerly Section 438, CrPC 1973)
See alsoBailable offenceRemand
Private determination of a dispute by a tribunal the parties have agreed on, producing an award enforceable like a decree.
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
See alsoExecutionLok Adalat
B
An offence for which bail is a matter of right, granted by the police or the court on furnishing the required bond.
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
C
The list a court publishes of the matters it will take up on a given day, in the order it will reach them.
See alsoItem numberAdjournmentCNR number
A notice filed by someone expecting proceedings against them, so the court will not pass an interim order without hearing them first.
Section 148A, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
See alsoInterim order
A writ quashing an order of a lower court or tribunal that acted without jurisdiction or against the law.
Article 32 · Article 226
See alsoWrit petitionProhibition
The police report filed on completion of investigation, setting out the evidence and the persons sent for trial.
Section 193, BNSS 2023 (formerly Section 173, CrPC 1973)
The standard reference that locates a reported judgment — year, volume, reporter and page, as in (2018) 1 SCC 560.
The Case Number Record — a unique 16-character identifier assigned to a case on eCourts that stays with it across transfers and renumbering.
eCourts, National Judicial Data Grid
See alsoCause list
An offence for which the police may arrest without a warrant and begin investigating without a magistrate's order.
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
An offence the complainant may lawfully settle with the accused, ending the prosecution — in some cases only with the court's permission.
Section 147, Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for §138 cases)
See alsoSection 138, NI Act
An application asking the court to admit a filing made after the limitation period, on showing sufficient cause for the delay.
Section 5, Limitation Act, 1963
See alsoLimitation
D
The formal adjudication that conclusively determines the rights of the parties on the matters in dispute in a suit.
Section 2(2), Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
Release of an accused before trial because the material does not disclose a case to answer. An acquittal, by contrast, comes after trial.
See alsoCharge sheet
A court found the facts before it materially different, so it declined to apply an earlier judgment. The earlier judgment survives.
E
A step taken or an order passed in the absence of one party, usually because they did not appear despite service.
Order IX, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
See alsoWritten statementSummons
The process of enforcing a decree — recovering the money or obtaining the possession the decree awarded.
Order XXI, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
See alsoDecree
F
The written record of the first information received about a cognizable offence, which sets an investigation in motion.
Section 173, BNSS 2023 (formerly Section 154, CrPC 1973)
See alsoCognizable offenceCharge sheet
G
A judgment that still binds — not overruled, not held per incuriam, and not doubted by a larger bench. Always check before relying on an authority.
H
A writ directing whoever holds a person in custody to produce them before the court and justify the detention.
Article 32 · Article 226
See alsoWrit petition
An editorial summary at the head of a reported judgment setting out its issues, ratio and holding. It is a finding aid, not part of the judgment, and cannot be cited as the court's words.
See alsoCitationRatio decidendi
I
Adding a person as a party to proceedings because their presence is necessary to decide the matter completely.
Order I Rule 10, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
See alsoPlaint
An order restraining a party from doing something, or requiring them to do it. May be temporary, pending the suit, or permanent as final relief.
Order XXXIX CPC · Specific Relief Act, 1963
See alsoInterim orderStay
A temporary order made while proceedings are pending, holding the position until the matter is finally decided.
See alsoOrderStayInjunction
A matter's position on the day's cause list. It sets roughly when in the day the matter will be called.
See alsoCause list
J
The statement by a judge of the grounds for a decree or order — the reasoning, as distinct from the operative result.
Section 2(9), Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
Arguments have concluded and the court will deliver its decision later rather than pronouncing it in open court that day.
See alsoPart-heardJudgment
L
The period within which a suit, appeal or application must be filed. File outside it and the remedy is barred, however good the case.
Limitation Act, 1963
See alsoCondonation of delay
The right to bring a matter before a court. Ordinarily the person affected, though the requirement is relaxed in public interest litigation.
A forum where pending or pre-litigation disputes are settled by consent. Its award is final and no appeal lies against it.
Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
See alsoArbitration
M
A writ commanding a public authority to perform a duty it is legally bound to perform.
Article 32 · Article 226
See alsoWrit petitionCertiorari
O
Observations a judge makes in passing that were not necessary to decide the case. Persuasive, but not binding.
See alsoRatio decidendi
The formal expression of a civil court's decision that is not a decree. Most interim directions are orders.
Section 2(14), Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
See alsoDecreeInterim order
A later or larger bench has displaced the principle a judgment laid down. The reasoning no longer holds as law.
See alsoGood lawDistinguished
P
A matter whose hearing has begun but not concluded. It ordinarily returns to the same bench to continue.
See alsoJudgment reservedAdjournment
A decision reached in ignorance of a binding statute or precedent. Because of that oversight it does not bind later courts.
The document that begins a civil suit, setting out the facts, the cause of action and the relief sought.
Order VII, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
See alsoWritten statementDecree
A writ stopping a lower court or tribunal from continuing with a matter that exceeds its jurisdiction. Certiorari undoes; prohibition prevents.
Article 32 · Article 226
See alsoCertiorariWrit petition
Proceedings brought for a class or the public at large rather than the petitioner's own grievance, where those affected cannot readily approach the court themselves.
See alsoLocus standiWrit petition
Q
A writ questioning the authority by which a person holds a public office.
Article 32 · Article 226
See alsoWrit petition
R
The legal principle a judgment actually decides, applied to its material facts. This is the part that binds later courts.
An order committing an accused to police or judicial custody for a specified period while investigation or trial continues.
See alsoAnticipatory bail
A matter finally decided between the same parties by a competent court cannot be litigated again.
Section 11, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
See alsoDecreeStare decisis
S
The regime allowing a secured creditor to enforce its security and realise a defaulted debt without first obtaining a court decree.
SARFAESI Act, 2002
See alsoExecution
The offence of dishonour of a cheque for insufficiency of funds, subject to statutory notice and timelines. One of the highest-volume proceedings in Indian courts.
Section 138, Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
See alsoCompoundable offence
A petition asking the Supreme Court for permission to appeal against almost any order of any court or tribunal in India. Leave is discretionary; granting it converts the petition into an appeal.
Article 136, Constitution of India
See alsoWrit petition
The principle that courts follow settled precedent, so that like cases are decided alike and the law stays predictable.
See alsoRatio decidendi
An order suspending the effect of a decision or halting proceedings, usually while a challenge to it is heard.
See alsoInterim orderInjunction
A court's written direction requiring a person to appear before it on a stated date.
V
The document by which a client authorises an advocate to appear and act for them in a particular matter.
See alsoCause list
W
A written authority from a court directing that a person be arrested and produced, usually issued when a summons has not secured appearance.
A petition asking a constitutional court to enforce a fundamental right or correct an authority acting unlawfully.
Article 32 (Supreme Court) · Article 226 (High Courts)
The defendant's formal reply to a plaint, admitting or denying each averment and raising any defence.
Order VIII, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
A note on use. These are plain-language explanations to help you find your footing — not legal advice, and not a substitute for the statute. Section numbers move: the 2023 criminal codes renumbered much of the CrPC, so verify any provision against its current text before relying on it. Found something wrong or missing? Tell us and we’ll fix it.
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