Important Legal Terms

FIR means First Information Report. It is a written document prepared by the police when they receive information about a cognizable offence. The FIR contains the date, time, place, incident, details etc.

A plaint is a legal document that contains a written statement of the plaintiff’s claim. In other words plaint can be defined as a written document which is given by the plaintiff to the court for prosecuting the case. A plaint is the first step to the institution of a suit.

A written statement is an Reply file given by a defendant to the plaintiff’s suit.

A person who brings a case against another in court.

A person who has been accused of breaking the law is called a defendant.

Appeal means making an application to the High Court to reverse the decision of the lower court.

A tribunal is a judicial body or court of justice.

Legal dissolution of marriage by court or other competent body.

Legitimate means authorized and recognized as valid.

illegitimate means not authorized and not recognized as valid.
Example :- A child born to a single mother who is not married.

Adoption is a legal fact or action in which a person can take another child and bringing it up as one’s own.

The act of providing basic and necessary support. The amount can be paid in one either one time or in monthly installments.

Judiciary is the branch of government that interprets the law, settles disputes and provides justice to all.

A constitution is defined as a set of written rules, laws and principles that are accepted by all the people living together in a country. It determines the relationship between the people and the government.

Negligence means failure to take proper care and consequently failure to cause injury or damage to someone.

Anything which is disturbing, hurts or which is offensive and which persists for a continuous period of time is called nuisance.

Precedent means the decision of any court which may be the basis or reason for future decisions.

Prospective applies to the future to control the future acts of human beings and does not interfere with the past in any way.

Mortgage is the transfer of ownership of a property or land by a borrower to a lander for the purpose of loan.

Retrospective means to correct a defect in any action taken in the past or to make a law on it so that it is applicable to the past.

A summons is a notice given to someone informing them that a complaint or suit has been filed against them and that they are required to appear in court to answer the complaint.

Ultra Vires means ‘beyond the power’. It is used to describe an act that requires a legal right or power but is then accomplished without the requisite authority.

A will under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 is a legal declaration of the intent of the testator to distribute his property after his death.

Alimony is money that a court of law orders someone to pay regularly after the divorce of their former wife or husband.

Valid means legally binding by virtue of being executed in compliance with the law.

The action, process, or practice of settling a dispute in a court of law.

The practice of marrying or the state of being married to one person at a time.

Bigamy is the offense of marrying a person while he or she is already legally married.

The condition or practice of having more than one spouse at the same time.

Crime means wrong done by a man. In other words, an offense is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority.

An agreement is a promise or any set of promises between two or more parties to do or not to do something. (Under section 2(e) of the Indian Contract Act ).

Contract means a promise which is enforceable by law.

Fraud is a deliberate act in which a person illegally obtains profit or money and violates the rights of the victim.

Minor means a person who is below the age of majority or the legal age of adulthood.

Indemnity is the compensation paid by the other (defendant) party to the injured party.

A guarantee is a contractual promise to ensure that a third party will fulfill its obligations.

The term bailment refers to a legal relationship between two parties, where property or assets are transferred from a Bailor to a bailee for a specified period of time, but retains ownership.

A contract where the person deposits an item or goods with a lender as security for the repayment of a loan or the performance of a promise. It is used for movable property.

Libel is defined as making, writing and publishing false and malicious statements about someone that damages that person’s reputation.

Slander is defined as making any false statement about someone that damages that person’s reputation.

Defamation is the act of damaging the reputation of another person by giving a false statement to a third person.

Homicide means killing one person by another person.

Genocide is an internationally recognized crime where acts are committed with a national, ethnic, racial or religious group destroying wholly or partly.

Suicide is the intentional and voluntary act of a person who wants to end his life.

The executive is the part of the government that enforces the law and responsible for the governance of the state.

Legislature is a governing body that makes laws and can amend or repeal them.

A warrant is a legal document issued by courts that authorizes the police or other permitted authority to make an arrest, search, seize property or execute a judgment.

The people of the country whose government serves.

Relating to or used only by one person or group of people.

To postpone the session of a court or to suspend proceeding to another time or place.

Alibu is a which means at another place. in other words the explanation given by a person accused of a crime that he or she was somewhere else when the crime was committed. read also