Im pretty sure you would have heard in news or in your daily life that XYZ has been served with a legal notice or ever thought why do such a thing exists in our system!

Dont worry I am here to help your concepts get clear in a very easy manner, just read this article till the end!

Firstly legal notice is formal written document sent by person or an entity with respect to an greviance. You may say it is warning that there is someissue which needs to be looked upon at the same time also give a chance to the receiver to resolve the issue. Lets understand with a example You live in a co-op housing society and you have parking issues as some other person parks on your place alloted. Firstly on a personal level you may ask the person no to do so and still not resolved you may send a legal notice to your society regarding this issue , if they dont give a solution you can file complaint in the consumer forum.

Now we are going to look types of Notices:

1.Tenant eviction notice – Maharashtra Rent control Act 1999-

Even though, tenants are provided with rights which protects them against forced or unlawful eviction, there are certain grounds on which the landlord can file an eviction suit. Before filing an eviction suit, first the landlord has to send a legal notice to the tenant.

The law specifies that the duty to keep premises in good condition, lies on the landlord. If the landlord does not make any repairs within a reasonable time, after a notice of 15 days is served upon him, the tenant may carry out the same and deduct the expenses of such repairs from the rent

2. Cheque bounce notices – Sec 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act .

In case of dishonour of cheques.

3.Consumer Dispute-

One of the actions that can be taken by Consumer before approaching the Consumer Court is to send legal notice to the service provider detailing the particulars of compliant, relief sought for, time period to comply with the conditions and cautioning the service provider of legal recourse in the event of non-compliance of terms and conditions of the notice

4.Section 80 of Civil Procedure Code, 1908

A legal notice is filed only in civil cases. In criminal cases, it is the government which brings action against the wrongdoer. However, when a suit is filed against the government or a public officer giving a legal notice is mandatory under Section 80 of Civil Procedure Code. 

Section 80 of the code details two things. 

1. Who should be served with the notice?
2. What should the notice contain?

Who should be served with the notice?

It is stated in the section that, 

1. If the suit is filed against the Central Government or State Government, then the secretary to that government or collector of the district should be served with the notice;
2. If the suit is filed against railway, then the General Manager will be served with the notice;
3. If the suit is filed against Government of Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Secretary to the government or any other authorized person will be served with the notice;
4. If the suit is to be filed against a public officer, then the notice should be delivered to him or left at his office. 

The Government or the officer who is served with the notice are provided with a timeframe of 2 months to resolve the issue. In case they fail to do so, a formal legal proceeding can be initiated against them. 

This mandatory requirement is made to discourage frivolous lawsuits against the government.

What should the notice contain? 

Section 80 also states what essential information must be there in the notice. This information includes, 

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.

Tips while Drafting a Legal Notice :

1. Mention the Date and Registered post or courier and it is preferable in case when the opposite party is an Government authority.
2. Legal notices should be preferably short and to the point no stories needed to be cooked up there just Facts, damage , solution/ compensation.
3. Legal Notices as already i said can be sent by anyone but on advocates letter head makes it look more serious and (on a lighter note) to scare the party.
4. Address and names of the parties should be clear .
5. Subject should preferrably contain the section under which you are serving this notice.
6. Important dates and facts should be higlhlighted and clearly mentioned ,the notice should be in paragraphas and numbered, it should flow like a story .
7. You should provide reasonable time to reply to the receiver and signed by the advocate and the party .
8. You should clearly mention (if your an advocate) that you have been engaged or as per instructions by your client to serve this notice to the receiver.
9. Mention your Demands very clearly and donot exagerate on the claims.
10. Be very clear with facts , statutory requirement or a important fact the best practice is to send a questionnaire to your client where you ask all the questions and accordingly draft.
11. Always mention that one copy of the notice is being retained with you for further referrence (this is just to scare or make sure you are not taken lightly).

You can kind several templates online and draft according to your needs. So next time you have to serve a notice to someone keep these points in mind . I will also guide you on How to reply to legal notices.

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