Legal Dictionary

An identification parade (also called Test Identification Parade or TIP) is conducted when a witness claims to have seen the accused commit the crime but the accused was not previously known to the witness. The parade involves placing the accused among several persons of similar description and appearance, and asking the witness (without any hint or suggestion) to identify the person they saw. A TIP is conducted before a magistrate (now under BNSS provisions) and the accused may be present but should not stand out from the others. The value of TIP in evidence: courts treat TIP identification as corroborating the witness's court identification — if a witness identifies the accused in court and also identified them at the TIP earlier, the court identification is stronger. But TIP alone (without court identification) may not be sufficient for conviction.

Identity theft in the cyber context involves using another person's digital credentials — password, OTP, biometric data, digital signature, login credentials, PAN, Aadhaar number — without authorisation, typically to commit financial fraud, access private data, or impersonate the person online. Section 66C IT Act penalises fraudulent or dishonest use of another's electronic signature, password, or unique identification feature — punishable with up to 3 years imprisonment and fine of Rs. 1 lakh. Section 66D IT Act penalises cheating by personation using communication devices (making phone calls pretending to be another person). Physical identity theft — forging identity documents — falls under BNS forgery provisions.

Historical legal term for a person with a mental deficiency from birth; replaced by 'intellectual disability' in modern law.

An illegal agreement is a subset of void agreements — all illegal agreements are void, but not all void agreements are illegal. The crucial distinction is that an illegal agreement also contaminates related or collateral transactions. Under Section 23 ICA, the consideration or object of an agreement is unlawful if it: (a) is forbidden by law; (b) is of such a nature that, if permitted, it would defeat the provisions of any law; (c) is fraudulent; (d) involves or implies injury to the person or property of another; or (e) is immoral or opposed to public policy. Courts apply the maxim 'ex turpi causa non oritur actio' (no right of action arises from a base cause) — parties in pari delicto cannot seek court's assistance.

Immovable property in Indian law includes land, buildings, and things permanently attached to land. Under the Transfer of Property Act 1882, immovable property includes 'things embedded in the earth, things attached to what is embedded, standing timber, growing crops, and grass' (Section 3, TPA). The General Clauses Act 1897 Section 3(26) defines it as land, benefits arising out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth. Transfer of immovable property requires a registered written deed if the value exceeds Rs. 100 (Section 17, Registration Act 1908).

Impeachment in India is a constitutional process, not an ordinary parliamentary motion. The President may be impeached under Article 61 for violation of the Constitution — by either House (not necessarily Lok Sabha alone). Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts may be removed under Article 124(4) on grounds of 'proved misbehaviour or incapacity' by a special majority of both Houses. The procedure is elaborate: an inquiry by a three-member committee (Judges Inquiry Act, 1968), recommendation, and then Parliamentary resolution. No President has ever been impeached; no Supreme Court Judge has successfully been removed, though proceedings were initiated against Justice V. Ramaswami in 1993 (motion failed as the ruling party boycotted the vote).

An implied contract arises when the conduct of the parties demonstrates mutual assent to be bound, even though no formal written or spoken agreement exists. Under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, acceptance need not be in words — it can be by conduct (Section 8). Implied contracts arise in two sub-forms: (a) implied-in-fact contracts — where the terms are inferred from the parties' conduct and surrounding circumstances (e.g., a customer sitting in a restaurant and eating implies agreement to pay); and (b) implied-in-law contracts (quasi-contracts) — obligations imposed by law even without any agreement, to prevent unjust enrichment (Sections 68-72 ICA).

Dismissal of case at preliminary stage.

An in limine dismissal occurs at the admission stage of a petition when the court determines that the petition does not disclose any prima facie ground that merits notice being issued to the other party. The court dismisses 'on the threshold' — without further proceedings. Common in: (a) Supreme Court SLP admissions — the vast majority of SLPs are dismissed in limine (at admission stage, often without reasons); (b) High Court writ admissions — petitions that clearly have no merit are dismissed at the first hearing without notice; (c) bail applications — where the offence is extremely serious and there is no ground for bail. In limine dismissals protect the other party from the burden of responding to hopeless petitions.

Inchoate offences (from Latin 'inchoatum' — just begun) impose criminal liability at a stage before the intended substantive crime is actually completed. They criminalise the preparatory or intermediate stages of criminal conduct, reflecting the law's interest in preventing harm before it occurs. Indian criminal law recognises three primary inchoate offences: (1) Attempt — doing an act towards commission of an offence that goes beyond mere preparation but falls short of completion (Section 62 BNS / Section 511 IPC); (2) Abetment — instigating, conspiring with, or intentionally aiding another to commit an offence (Sections 45–60 BNS), even if the substantive offence is never committed, provided some act or illegal omission occurs in pursuance of the abetment; (3) Criminal Conspiracy — an agreement between two or more persons to commit an illegal act or a legal act by illegal means (Section 61 BNS / Sections 120A–120B IPC). Criminal conspiracy is complete at the moment of agreement — no overt act is required for serious offences. Some specific offences also have dedicated inchoate provisions: Section 147 BNS (preparation to wage war); Section 310 BNS (preparation for dacoity). Punishment for inchoate offences is generally less than for the completed offence.

Appellate body for income tax matters.

Evidence that tends to incriminate the accused.

Inculpatory evidence is evidence that the prosecution adduces to prove the accused's guilt. It may be direct (eyewitness testimony identifying the accused in the act) or circumstantial (fingerprints, motive, opportunity, last seen evidence). The prosecution must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt using inculpatory evidence alone — or through the combination of inculpatory evidence sufficient to shift the evidential burden to the accused for specific defences. Under Indian evidence law, inculpatory parts of a mixed statement (a statement that both incriminates and exculpates) may be admissible separately from exculpatory parts, but courts consider the statement as a whole.

Promise by one person to save another from loss caused by the promisor or any other person.

An indemnity clause under Section 124 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 is a contract of indemnity: one party promises to save the other harmless against loss caused by the promisor's conduct or third-party conduct. Unlike damages for breach (which require proving causation and loss), an indemnity clause is a direct promise to pay specified amounts upon specified trigger events. Common in: M&A (seller indemnifies buyer for warranty breaches); service contracts (service provider indemnifies client for third-party IP infringement claims); financial contracts (borrower indemnifies lender for increased costs from regulatory changes). Key negotiated points: scope of covered losses, caps (maximum liability), baskets/deductibles (minimum threshold), survival period, and whether indemnity covers first-party losses or third-party claims only.

Director with no material relationship with company.

Defines essentials of a valid contract, breach, and remedies under Indian contract law.

Any dispute relating to employment, terms of service etc.

Sections 25-26 BNS 2023 (formerly Sections 82-83 IPC) establish the 'infancy' defence: (a) Section 25 BNS (absolute defence) — a child under 7 years of age cannot be guilty of any offence, regardless of the act committed. (b) Section 26 BNS (rebuttable presumption) — a child aged 7-12 who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of their conduct is not guilty of an offence. This is the doli incapax (incapable of evil) presumption — rebuttable by the prosecution showing that the child had sufficient maturity. Juvenile offenders aged 7 and above are generally tried under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Infringement is the unauthorised exercise of the IP owner's exclusive rights. Each IP right has its own infringement definition: (a) Copyright infringement (Section 51 Copyright Act): doing any act exclusively reserved for the author without licence — reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation, translation; (b) Patent infringement (Section 48 Patents Act): making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing the patented invention without licence; (c) Trademark infringement (Section 29 Trade Marks Act): using an identical or deceptively similar mark in the course of trade for similar goods/services; (d) Design infringement (Section 22 Designs Act): applying the registered design to any article in the same class. Remedies for infringement: injunction, damages or account of profits, delivery up, and in some cases (copyright) criminal prosecution.