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Common legal questions answered
How do I file an FIR in India?
To file an FIR (First Information Report) in India, visit the nearest police station with jurisdiction over the incident. Under Section 154 of the CrPC (now Section 173 of the BNSS, 2023), the police officer is legally obligated to register the FIR. If they refuse, you can send the complaint to the Superintendent of Police or file a complaint before a Magistrate under Section 156(3) CrPC (now Section 175(3) BNSS).
What are the grounds for divorce under Hindu law?
Under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, grounds for divorce include cruelty, desertion for two or more years, conversion to another religion, mental disorder, communicable disease, and mutual consent under Section 13B. The couple must generally be married for at least one year before filing.
How do I file a consumer complaint in India?
Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, you can file before the District Commission (claims up to Rs 50 lakh), the State Commission (Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore) or the National Commission (above Rs 2 crore). Complaints can also be filed online at consumerhelpline.gov.in or by calling 1915.
What is the punishment for cyber crime in India?
Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, offences such as hacking under Section 66 carry imprisonment up to three years and/or a fine up to Rs 5 lakh. Identity theft under Section 66C carries up to three years and a fine up to Rs 1 lakh. Online fraud and cheating can also be prosecuted under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (formerly IPC Section 420).
How do I register a property in India?
Property registration requires execution of the sale deed, payment of stamp duty (typically 5–8% of the property value, varying by state), payment of the registration fee (about 1%), and submission at the Sub-Registrar office within four months of execution, under the Registration Act, 1908.
Free Legal Advice in India: How Online Legal Q&A Actually Works
Most people in India do not need a lawyer for every legal question they have. What they need is a clear answer to a specific question — whether a landlord can keep the security deposit, whether a consumer complaint can be filed for a delayed refund, whether an employer can withhold salary, or whether a cyber fraud complaint has to be filed at a particular police station. LawPucho exists for that first step: a free, plain-language answer that tells you where you stand, what the law provides, and what you should do next.
The platform works as a legal Q&A community. You post your question with the relevant facts — the date, the documents, the notice or the order you received — and legal experts and experienced members respond with the statutory position and the practical route. The answers are written in ordinary language rather than judgment language, so that a person who has never been to court can understand what the next step is. Every question is public unless you choose otherwise, which means the next person with the same problem can find the answer too.
The legal areas people ask about most
Questions on this platform cluster around a small number of areas, because those are the areas where ordinary life meets the law most often. Family law questions cover divorce by mutual consent and on contested grounds, maintenance under Section 144 of the BNSS 2023, child custody, and succession to property. Property law questions cover tenancy and eviction, security deposits, registration of sale deeds, partition among co-heirs, and the difference between a khajna receipt and a title document. Criminal law questions cover FIR registration, bail, quashing of proceedings, and what to do when the police refuse to register a complaint. Consumer law questions cover defective goods, deficient services, refunds, and the route to the District Consumer Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Corporate and cyber law questions cover company registration, contract drafting, data breaches, online defamation, and the reporting route for financial fraud through the national cybercrime portal.
When a free answer is enough — and when it is not
A free legal answer is genuinely useful for orientation: it tells you whether you have a legal issue at all, which statute applies, what the limitation period is, and roughly what a court or authority will look at. It is not a substitute for an advocate who has read your documents. Where a matter involves a limitation deadline that is about to expire, a criminal case where custody or arrest is possible, a property transaction that is about to be signed, or a court date that has already been fixed, the responsible step is to take the papers to a lawyer rather than rely on an online answer. The platform says this plainly on every thread because the cost of getting it wrong is high.
For people who cannot afford a lawyer at all, the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides free legal aid through the National Legal Services Authority and the State and District Legal Services Authorities. Eligibility depends on income and category — women, children, members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, persons with disabilities, victims of trafficking, and industrial workmen are among those entitled. A District Legal Services Authority in your district can assign a legal aid advocate for a court matter at no cost. That route is separate from an online Q&A answer, and for anyone facing a court case without means, it is the route to use.
What makes an online legal answer reliable
- The answer cites the section and the statute, not just an opinion. Where the law changed — for example, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 replacing the Indian Penal Code — the answer should say so.
- The answer distinguishes between what the statute provides and what the particular court or authority usually does, because practice varies between districts and benches.
- The answer flags the limitation period. A correct answer that arrives after the deadline is useless.
- The answer tells you what documents or evidence will decide the matter, so that you can check whether you have them.
- The answer does not promise an outcome. No responsible lawyer or platform can guarantee what a court will do.
LawPucho's editorial approach follows those five rules. Answers are written by or reviewed against statutory text and reported judgments, and the platform links to primary sources — India Code, Supreme Court judgments, eCourts and NALSA — so that any statement can be checked. Where a question turns on facts that are not in the post, the answer says what additional facts would change the position. That is more useful than a confident answer built on incomplete facts.
If you are unsure whether your question needs a lawyer, post it. A free answer costs nothing and tells you whether the next step is a document, a notice, a complaint, or a consultation. Ask your legal question and read the answer before you decide.