Legal Notice Procedure And Format

A legal notice is a kind of formal communication between the parties related to any dispute, usually civil matters. It’s a kind of prior information to another party about the intention of going legally for any dispute if issue not sorted out after legal notice. So, basically through Legal Notice,  sender shows the recipient about his purpose of considering the legal action against the latter. It also helps in clarify about grievances of the sender. It’s a kind of last warning to the recipient of legal notice to fulfil a few conditions to avoid legal or court battle. Many times, it helps in resolving the matter out of court with discussion from both sides. And, if the other party is still taking a legal notice very lightly or not in the mood to sort the issue, then one can start the court proceeding. It is a method to save time and cost of litigation as it opens the door for the parties to settle the matter through negotiation, mediation or arbitration.

Legal Notice as Per the Civil Procedure Code: 

Usually, a Legal Notice can be sent in Civil cases as in criminal matters, the state takes action against the person who commits the offence. Somebody wants to file a lawsuit against the government, it’s mandatory to send a legal notice to the government and only after that anybody can proceed further.  As per section 80 of the CPC, Legal Notice can be sent to the government or public officer if a person wants to initiate legal action against the government for any act claimed to be done by such public officer during his official duty within two months of the period. 

Section 80 of the Civil Procedure code includes two things. 

• Whom anybody can send a notice?
• What should be the content of the notice?

Whom somebody can send a notice according to section 80 of the CPC?

It has been stated in the section that,

1. If any legal proceeding is against the  Central Government or State Government, then notice should be sent to  the secretary to that government or collector of the district;
2. In case, if the case is initiated against the railway, then notice shall be sent to the General Manager ;
3. If the case is to be filed against a public officer, then the notice should be directly delivered to him or at his office.

The timeframe to resolve the issue is two months whoever officer has been served with the notice. A formal legal proceeding can be initiated if they fail to resolve the issue. 

What should be the Content of Notice according to Section 80 of the CPC?

The following information is necessary:  

1. The Name, Description, Residence of the person sending the notice;
2. The cause of action for filing the notice;
3. The relief/compensation claimed by the plaintiff.
   

What kind of Legal Notices usually anyone sends:

1. In Consumer matter: In case of any defective product or service is provided to a person he or she can send a legal notice to the concerned person and ask him to rectify the deficiencies. 
2. Disputes related to property: In the matter of litigation related to property such as partition, eviction or issues relating to possession of the property. 
3. Loan Defaulters: If anybody is not paying a loan, under these circumstances bank usually slaps a person with Legal Notice.
4. Cheque bounce matters: In case of dishonour of cheque, due to any reason mentioned under the Negotiable Instruments Act, the aggrieved person can send a legal notice, which is a kind of mandatory procedure. 
5. Debt Recovery Cases: Usually, before filing a suit, aggrieved person prefer to send a legal notice to the Opposite Party.
6. Employee and Employer/Company: Usually, in case of non-payment of salary, an employee sends a legal notice to the employer.

Why we  should prefer to  send a Legal Notice:

1. It is cost-effective as it saves the unnecessary cost of litigation, and also it saves time as litigation is a lengthy process. So, if the recipient of notice agrees to follow the conditions to avoid litigation, then it’s beneficial for both the parties.  
2. Through a legal notice, the plaintiff or an aggrieved person can convey his grievances to the recipient of the notice in a detailed manner.
3. It gives a prior acknowledgment to the opposite party that a legal proceeding maybe starts in case of non-fulfillment of conditions of the legal notice.
4. It is a pre-stage for filing any suit in the court and makes the matter stronger.
5. It gives a chance to the receiver of the notice to address grievances to save himself from a formal legal proceeding. 
6. It provides an opportunity to sort out the matter outside the court and to avoid the hassle of litigation.

Legal notice procedure for Drafting

A legal practitioner can only send a legal notice on behalf of his/her client.  

It is usually given by an advocate on behalf of the client to settle the matter and to avoid unnecessary lengthy litigation. When a lawyer draft the notice, it  should be on the lawyer’s letterhead 

Procedure:

• Understand the whole matter, and Once the purpose of legal notice is clear,  an advocate shall draft a  legal notice.
• The draft of the legal notice shall be reviewed by the client to avoid any kind of discrepancies.
• Once the client approves the same, it will be sent to the opposite party.
• The complete process of drafting and finalising takes around 3-4 working days.

Main contents of the Legal Notice 

Legal notice must contain all the relevant information’s related to the cause of sending a Notice.  A legal notice has different significance for both the sender and the receiver.

• Concise Statement of Material Facts of the Case

A legal notice must contain all the relevant facts of the issue. It is the basis on which further suit can be initiated. All the facts mentioned in the legal notice should be correct; otherwise, it may become one of the reasons behind the dismissal of the suit. Legal notice should state all previous communications regarding the cause of action.  

For example, In a money recovery case like,  the facts should be stated as follows, 

1. That, my client ‘A’ loaned you the Noticee, a sum of Rs. ……..on (date).
2. That, you the Noticee,  promised to pay back the loan on……… to my client ‘A’. 
3. That, you the notice,  failed to keep your promise and was unable to repay the loan amount within the agreed timeframe, etc..

• Relief by Plaintiff/Sender of Notice

The relief that the aggrieved party/sender of the notice is looking for must be mentioned in the notice. It is necessary, so the recipient of the Notice or Noticee will come to know about precisely what relief an aggrieved party is looking for.  It also allows settling the matter outside of the court.

In the legal notice that ‘A’ wants what kind of relief from  ‘B’, should be mentioned explicitly along with interest accrued on loan.  

• Concise Summary of Legal Basis

A legal notice warns the other party that formal litigation can be initiated in case the aggrieved party’s conditions are not fulfilled. The legal basis means under what provision of law, the plaintiff /sender of notice can take action against the defendant/recipient of notice/Noticee. Thus, it is necessary to mention the legal basis for the relief sought. 

In the above case for money recovery, ‘A’ can initiate proceedings against ‘B’ under Order 37 of The Civil Procedure Code, 1908.

• Time Frame

The plaintiff should give a reasonable time to the recipient of the notice to settle the matter so, Noticee gets time to address the grievances and can get time to negotiate the matter.

The notice is sent through Registered Advocate’s post. A copy of the notice is kept by the sender or by his lawyer. 

Format of the Notice

Each kind of notice has a unique format in fact it depends on the fact of the matter. According to the issue, legal provisions are applicable. Here I am sharing one format of the notice in case of recovery of money.  

(ON ADVOCATE LETTERHEAD)

Through Courier/Registered Post

LEGAL NOTICE

Date: …………….

To,

……………………………………..Ltd

2nd Floor, Ambience  Tower, Ambience,

NH 5, Gurgaon-122001

SUBJECT: “Legal Notice for recovery of an amount of Rs. 246, 680/- (Rupees Two Lakhs Forty-six Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty Only)”

OUR CLIENT: ………………………..PRIVATE LIMITED, OFFICE……….., SECTOR-02, NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH

Sir,

Under the instructions and on behalf of my aforesaid client, without foregoing and without prejudice to the legal rights and remedies available to my Client, I hereby serve upon you, the aforesaid Noticee with instant Legal/Demand Notice, for the outstanding payments against the invoices:

1. That my client is a Private Limited Company duly incorporated under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 engaged in the business of providing end to end IT and service solutions. My client is one of the most prominent service providers of IT solutions which has established its name with utmost hard work and perfection and has attained a high degree of reputation and goodwill in the business by helping companies and start-ups to grow and to venture to next level.
2. That my client furnished its proposal document to you, the Noticee on ……………..2018 Vide document ID ……………..and the said offer was settled for an amount of Rs. 3, 50, 000/- (Rupees Three Lakhs Fifty Thousand Only) on ……………..
3. That you, the Noticee accepted my client’s offer and On your request, my client assured you, the Noticee to provide you with prompt services subject to the complete and timely payment of the fee. And you, the Noticee promised and committed to making timely payment of the services provided. 
4. That according to the agreement executed between you, the Noticee and my client on ………………, the payments were decided to be made on a quarterly basis in advance.
5. That you, the Noticee were regular in making all the payments timely for close to a year but you, the Noticee failed to comply with the terms of the agreement as you, the Noticee stopped making payments from ………and did not pay any heed to my client’s requests to clear the outstanding debts. On several requests and assurances given by you, the Noticee and keeping the faith and goodwill in mind, my client agreed to continue the services.
6. That subject to the approval of terms and conditions of payment, my client agreed to provide you, the Noticee with the said services. In pursuance of the services agreed and in regards to the discussions, the following invoices were issued to you, the Noticee on the given dates amounting to a total sum of Rs. 246, 680 only. Subject to the payment of the said invoice we promised to provide services as mentioned below:

S. No.	Invoice No.	Invoice Date	Amount (In Rs.)	Services provided
1.	101		Rs. 1, 03, 250	Annual Maintenance Services
2.	105		Rs. 15, 930	Annual Maintenance Services
3.	105		Rs. 8, 320	OTS (Services)
4.	114		Rs. 15, 930	Annual Maintenance Services
5.	114		Rs. 1, 03, 250	Annual Maintenance Services
Total Amount Payable	Rs. 246, 680

1. That you, the Noticee were under the obligation to make the timely payment of balance amount as per agreed terms and conditions or once the said services had been completed. That my client fulfilled its commitment by providing you, the Noticee with the mentioned services as per your requirements, satisfaction and accordingly raised the invoice to clear the outstanding balance payment. But you the Noticee despite acknowledging the said invoice had deliberately defaulted in making the unpaid payment. 

1. That despite repeated request and reminders by my client, you, the Noticee did not pay any heed to the requests of my client. You, the Noticee have also stopped taking calls of my client and started misbehaving on calls. My client sent numerous reminders through email, text message and phone calls to clear the outstanding amount of Rs. 246, 680/- (Rupees Two Lakhs Forty six Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty only/-) but you now deny to pay it. You, the Noticee heeded and fooled my client that payment will be made tomorrow, day after tomorrow and so on, but no payments were made till date. 

1. That you, the Noticee have inter-alia committed the offence punishable under Section 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. You, the Noticee have induced and deceived my client wilfully and have also caused wrongful loss to my client and wrongful gain to yourself. 

1. That you, the Noticee are liable for criminal breach of trust also under Section 406 as you did not follow the common business ethics which is based on trust and harassing our client mentally.

1. That in view of the aforesaid and by virtue of this Legal Notice, You the Noticee are hereby called upon to pay the outstanding amount of Rs. 246, 680/- (Rupees Two Lakhs Fourty six Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty only/-), failing which my Client reserves all his rights to take appropriate legal actions against you, the Noticee .

1. That you are further called upon to pay my client a sum of INR 15,000/- towards the cost of this legal notice.

1. That the failure in compliance of the above within the stipulated period of 15 days shall attract legal action against you, the Noticee. My client reserves its right to recover the entire outstanding amount from you, the Noticee along with further interest and charges as applicable and take further legal action as per the law.

1. That you, the Noticee shall further be liable to indemnify, compensate and make good any loss (including litigation cost) which may be suffered by my client. That you shall ignore this notice at your own cost and peril. 

Our office is retaining copy of this Notice as a record and for further action.

Request you to acknowledge this notice kindly.

Yours Sincerely,  

Advocate( signature)

Conclusion:  

A legal notice should be send with the help of legal experts always as it’s the basis for further proceeding. Any defect in legal notice can costs a lot.