A legal notice is a formal communication to a person or entity informing them that you
intend to undertake legal proceedings against him/her. It is a step taken before filing a suit, and is
meant to warn the other party that legal action may be taken against him/her, if they fail to
comply with some specified condition. The party being served with the lawsuit / notice is called
the respondent or defendant. A legal notice may be responded to only if it has merit and
needs to be replied to. Legal notices are a vital principle of the courts in providing fairness and
due process, by giving all the parties affected (by the lawsuit or legal proceeding) a notice of the
legal procedure. No party can operate in secret and all court actions must be apparent to all the
parties to the case. A legal notice is filed as per Section 80 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and
is only filed in civil cases.
A legal notice is intimation and thus carries the following information:
1) Precise statement and facts relating to the grievance for which the action is to be taken.
2) Alternatives/relief sought by the grieving party.
3) How are the relief/problem in hand be solved, a summary of facts and the way it can be solved.