Frequently Asked Questions
Is delay interest the same across the NCR?
No, and the gap is worth money. UP RERA orders have generally applied SBI MCLR plus one percent for Noida and Ghaziabad projects, while Haryana prescribes plus two percent for Faridabad. Over a five-year delay on a large principal that difference is substantial. The current trend should be checked against recent orders for your specific project before a claim is valued.
My project is in Faridabad. Do I file at HARERA Gurugram?
No and this is the single most common filing error we see. Haryana has two benches: Gurugram covers Gurugram district, while Panchkula covers the rest of the State, Faridabad included. A complaint filed at the wrong bench is returned, and the months lost are rarely recoverable.
My builder blames the development authority for the delay. Is that a defence?
Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway projects sit on leasehold land, and promoters routinely plead authority dues, farmer compensation litigation or pending completion certificates as force majeure. UP RERA has largely rejected this the promoter chose the land and the payment structure, and cannot pass its own default down to the allottee.
Are older Indirapuram, Crossings Republik and Raj Nagar Extension projects covered?
Projects that were incomplete and lacked a completion certificate as on 01.05.2017 required registration, which brings a large share of that inventory within UP RERA even where the original booking predates the Act by years. A registration search against the project is the first step in assessing any claim.
Does my location decide where I file a trade mark?
Yes, for the registry branch. Applications go to the office having territorial jurisdiction over the applicant's principal place of business — Delhi for applicants in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and Chennai for applicants in Karnataka and the southern States. Protection itself is national once granted; only examination and opposition sit with the branch.
Why do so many IP suits end up in the Delhi High Court?
Because it has the most developed IP practice in the country and, since 2021, a dedicated Intellectual Property Division with its own rules. Jurisdiction is available wherever infringement occurs or the plaintiff carries on business, which in practice gives most rights holders a legitimate route to Delhi. For a Bengaluru company, whether to litigate at home or in Delhi is a real strategic choice worth taking early
The IPAB was abolished. Where do appeals and rectifications go now?
To the High Courts. The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 abolished the Intellectual Property Appellate Board and transferred its jurisdiction, so appeals from the Registrar and rectification petitions are now heard by the High Court having jurisdiction. The Delhi High Court created its Intellectual Property Division to absorb that workload, which is part of why it has become the default forum.
I have received an opposition notice. What are the timelines?
An opposition must be filed within four months of advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal, and the applicant then has two months to file a counter-statement. That two-month period is not extendable, and failure to file within it results in the application being treated as abandoned the most common way a defensible mark is lost.
Can we patent our software in India?
Not as such. Section 3(k) of the Patents Act excludes computer programmes per se and algorithms from patentability. What can be protected is a genuine technical contribution an improvement in hardware function, resource efficiency or a technical process where the claims are drafted around that contribution rather than around the code. Copyright protects the code itself automatically.
Who owns IP created by our contractors and consultants?
Not the company, unless there is a written assignment. Copyright in a commissioned work vests in the author, and Section 19 of the Copyright Act requires assignment to be in writing and signed. A purchase order that recites ownership is not an assignment. Every contractor agreement should carry an express present assignment of all IP, executed at engagement rather than on exit.
I have an FIR in the NCR. Which High Court actually hears it?
It depends entirely on which side of the State border the police station sits. Noida and Ghaziabad are Uttar Pradesh, so the matter travels to the Allahabad High Court at Prayagraj. Faridabad is Haryana, so it goes to the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh. Two neighbouring NCR districts can therefore require litigation in cities eight hundred kilometres apart.
Why are CBI matters from across the NCR heard at Ghaziabad?
Ghaziabad hosts the designated Special CBI Court for western Uttar Pradesh, so trap cases and disproportionate-assets prosecutions from Gautam Buddh Nagar, Meerut and neighbouring districts are committed there. It makes Ghaziabad a far more significant venue for Prevention of Corruption Act work than its size alone would suggest.
The police in my district are refusing to register an FIR. What are the options?
Escalate in writing to the Commissioner of Police for that district, and if that fails move a magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS. A private complaint under Section 223 BNSS remains available in parallel and is often the more reliable route where the accused has local standing, because it does not depend on police cooperation to reach the charge stage.
A Section 82 proclamation has been issued. Does staying contactable on WhatsApp help?
Less than clients expect. Courts have held that continued activity on a phone or messaging application does not by itself negate physical concealment the test is whether you absconded to avoid execution of process. The response is to move promptly for recall of the proclamation while simultaneously seeking protection.
Which court do I file in across the NCR districts?
The magistrate's court of the place where your collecting bank branch is located, under Section 142(2)(a). That single fact often lets a payee keep the prosecution in Delhi rather than travelling to Noida, Ghaziabad or Faridabad the collecting branch is chosen at the time of deposit and effectively fixes the forum.
Where does a quashing petition go if my matter is in Noida or Faridabad?
It depends on the State. A complaint pending at Gautam Buddh Nagar or Ghaziabad is challenged before the Allahabad High Court at Prayagraj; one pending at Faridabad goes to the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh. Two neighbouring NCR districts, two High Courts eight hundred kilometres apart.
The trader I supplied has issued a cheque that bounced. What is the fastest combined route?
A Section 138 complaint for pressure, run alongside a summary suit under Order 37 CPC for an executable decree, and where you are a registered MSME a reference to the Facilitation Council for compound interest. In the Sahibabad, Noida and Faridabad industrial belt this three-track approach is standard for trade-credit recovery.
Can the complaint be settled and closed?
Yes . Section 138 is compoundable, on the graded cost scale laid down in Damodar S. Prabhu, which rises the later compounding is sought. Settling at the trial court stage is materially cheaper than settling on appeal, which is worth putting to the accused early.
Which NCLT bench hears a Noida or Ghaziabad company?
Allahabad. Insolvency and company petitions follow the registered office, and Uttar Pradesh falls within the NCLT Allahabad Bench — so a Noida technology company or a Ghaziabad manufacturer is an Allahabad matter, not a Delhi one, notwithstanding that both sit inside the National Capital Region.
And a Faridabad company?
Chandigarh, because Faridabad is in Haryana. So two NCR industrial districts thirty kilometres apart file at tribunals in opposite directions, with appeals from both converging on the NCLAT at New Delhi. Confirming the registered office before drafting is the first step in any insolvency action here.
Is a Section 9 petition worth it against a stalled NCR builder?
Rarely for an individual allottee. Insolvency freezes the project, replaces management with a resolution professional, and subordinates buyers to a collective process that can run years. Where the promoter still has assets, a refund order from UP RERA or HARERA with attachment in execution usually recovers more, faster.
Can I bring a Section 9 petition for an operational debt below one crore?
No. The threshold was raised to one crore rupees in 2020 and applies to operational and financial creditors alike. Below that, recovery runs through a summary suit under Order 37, a Section 138 prosecution where cheques were issued, or the MSMED Facilitation Council for a registered supplier.