Basic Knowledge of Laws in India
The law is an amorphous set of rules govern individuals and group behavior. We don’t even know about many of these rules or we understand them only generally. For example, you don’t need to see a written law to know that it’s a crime to steal or destroy someone else property. In other words, the law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through the social or governmental institution to regulate behavior. Stamp that regulates and ensure that individuals or community support to the will of the state.
India maintains a hybrid legal system including all above described four laws within legal Framework inherited from the colonial era and various legislations firstly introduced by British. The constitution of India is the longest written constitution for a century. It contains450 articles, 12 schedules 101 amendment and 117,369 words. This makes the Indian Law system a very extensive one.
Criminal law system in india
The Criminal Justice System (CJS) includes the institutions/agencies and processes established by a government to control crime in the country. This includes components like police and courts.
The aim of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) is to protect the rights and personal liberty of individuals and the society against its invasion by others. The Criminal law in India is contained in a number of sources – The Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Contract laws in india
Law of contracts in India defines Contract as an agreement enforceable by law which offers personal rights, and imposes personal obligations, which the law protects and enforces against the parties to the agreement. The general law of contract is based on the conception, which the parties have, by an agreement, created legal rights and obligations, which are purely personal in their nature and are only enforceable by action against the party in default.
Labour laws in india
Indian labour law refers to laws regulating labour in India. Traditionally, Indian governments at federal and state level have sought to ensure a high degree of protection for workers, but in practice, this differs due to form of government and because labour is a subject in the concurrent list of the Indian Constitution.
Tort law in india
The word tort has been derived from a Latin word “tortum” which means twisted or crooked. According to Salmond, “Tort is a civil wrong for which the remedy is a common law action for unliquidated damages, and which is not exclusively the breach of contract, or, the breach of trust, or, other merely equitable obligation.”
To deal with the malicious behavior of the people tort existed in Hindu and Muslim law but it can be said that tort was formally introduced by the Crown in India. It is based on the principles of equity, justice, and good conscience. The law of torts is based on the principles of ‘common law’ which is mainly the English law of torts. The application of the law of tort is an applied selectively in Indian courts keeping in mind if it suits the circumstances of Indian society.
Tax laws in india
Indian tax law involves several different taxes levied by different governments. Income Tax is levied by the Central Government under the Income Tax Act 1961. Customs and excise duties are also levied by the Central government. Sales tax is levied under VAT legislation at the state level. The authority to levy a tax is derived from the Constitution of India which allocates the power to levy various taxes between the Centre and the State. An important restriction on this power is Article 265 of the Constitution which states that “No tax shall be levied or collected except by the authority of law.” Therefore, each tax levied or collected has to be backed by an accompanying law, passed either by the Parliament or the State Legislature.
Trust law in india
Indian Trusts Act, 1882 is an Act in India related to private trusts and trustees. Indian Trusts Act 1882 deals with all the matters related to trusts, trustee and beneficiaries .According to section 10 of Indian Trusts Act 1882 states that “Every Person capable of holding property may be a trustee; but, where the trust involves the exercise of discretion, he cannot execute it unless he is competent to contract.” The position of trustee is an extremely important one, as trustees are in a “fiduciary” relationship with the trust’s beneficiaries. This means that they are in a special position of trust and accordingly have a number of significant duties. If you are a trustee, it is vital that you familiarise yourself with those duties, as you can be liable for “breach of trust” if you do not full fill them. Any person who can own property may be a trustee. A minor (someone under 20) can be a trustee, but a court would have to appoint someone to act as trustee until the minor turns 20.
Family laws / Personal law in india
Law relating to marriage and/or divorce has been codified in different enactments applicable to people of different religions. These are:
- The Converts’ Marriage Dissolution Act, 1866
- The Indian Divorce Act, 1869
- The Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872
- The Kazis Act, 1880
- The Anand Marriage Act, 1909
- The Indian Succession Act, 1925
- The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
- The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936
- The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939
- The Special Marriage Act, 1954
- The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
- The Foreign Marriage Act, 1969 and
- The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
The Special Marriage Act, 1954 extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir, but also applies to the citizens of India domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir. Persons governed by this Act can specifically register marriage under the said Act even though they are of different religious faiths. The Act also provides that the marriage celebrated under any other form can also be registered under the Special Marriage Act, if it satisfies the requirements of the Act. The section 4(b) (iii) of the Act was amended to omit the words “or epilepsy.” Sections 36 and 38 have been amended to provide that an application for alimony pendente lite or the maintenance and education of minor children be disposed of within 60 days from the date of service of notice on the respondent.
Nationality law / citizenship act 1955
Citizenship law in India is governed by the Citizenship Act 1955 and The Constitution of India. India is one of few countries whose citizenship law is incorporated in the constitution itself. Due to unavoidable circumstances arose because of the partition of India and Pakistan and the freedom of Indian state to either join the Union or leave it, the citizenship law had to be incorporated in the constitution itself.
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