Understand the Process of Suing a Company in India

by  Ayush Kumar  

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8 mins

  

Discover the step-by-step legal process to take action against companies for fraud, non-payment or grievances.

If you are an employee working for a company or a buyer or vendor who has suffered any harm due to the neglect of the seller men you must be wondering as to how you should sue the company in either of the cases. Let’s learn how!

Overview

A company is dealing with a lot of people in their business capacity as many parties are involved in the growth of a business ranging from customers, vendors, laborers, employees, etc. Therefore, it is very important that the above-mentioned parties should take stringent action if they have ever faced any kind of fraud while dealing with the business.

It could range from charging unnecessary prices, dealing with restrictive trade practices, lousing prices of the services or goods, defective products, misrepresentation, misleading advertisements, non-payment of the dues or salaries, etc. The list of the issues is not certain and the process of filing an fir or going to the court seems a bit daunting to the general public.

Filing a Complaint against a Company in the Consumer Forum

Consumer as defined in the Consumer Protection Act

A consumer is a person who pays consideration to either buy something or use a service for personal consumption.in such a case consideration can be otherwise paid, promised or partially paid or promised.

The Rights for which a consumer can make a complaint are as follows:

  • The Right to Safety
  • The Right to Information.
  • The Right to be Heard
  • The Right to Consumer Education
  • The Right to Seek Redressal of Right.

Filing a Complaint against a Company under different Regulatory Bodies

For filing a complaint against a company there can be various ways and reasons. But filing the suit or taking any action against the non-payment of the wages will be death separately. The authorities to which an application for a complaint against a company along with their process can be made as:

Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)

Complaints against a company can be filed by filing an online form. The information that is required to be put in the form are:

  • Name and city of the Complainant
  • Country of the Complainant
  • Nature of the Complaint
  • Category of the Complaint
  • Name of the company against which the complaint is being filed.

Department of Commerce

Apart from filing the complaint with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, an aggrieved person may file a complaint with the Department of Commerce. The information that will be required for filing the complaint are:

  • Name of the company against which the complaint is being filed.
  • Address of the company.
  • IEC number.

National Consumer Helpline

An aggrieved person may file a complaint against the company in the National Consumer Helpline.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

For any issues related to the bills and charging issues related to the telephone, an aggrieved person may file a complaint against the telecom regulatory authority of India.

MCA 21

Apart from lodging a complaint as a customer to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, an aggrieved investor can also more to the MCA 21 portal for filing an online complaint and for:

  • The aggrieved person is required to download the latest version of the complaint form from the MCA portal
  • Filing the form and then providing all the required data
  • Complete the form and then scrutinize the form
  • Log in to the MCA21 portal
  • Uploading the investor complaint form by using the e-form upload functionality
  • Jotting down the SRN for any future references.

Different portals have been specified for filing the different types of complaints against the company but now let’s learn about the process of suing in India.

What are the ways of filing a Complaint?

  • Sending a sms over 8130009809
  • Additionally apart from the Consumer Helpline the complainant can also file a complaint over the Consumer Helpline App. 

Steps in the process of suing a Company in India

  • Identifying the Cause of Action: The first step in the process of suing a company is identifying the cause of action behind suing the company. Identifying the cause of action helps in determining the remedies in a better way.
  • Gathering Evidence: The next step involved in the process is to gather all the related evidence to your grievance. Evidence could be in the form of relevant documents, records, information, agreements, contracts, emails, invoices etc.
  • Consulting with a Lawyer: The next step in the process is to consult an experienced lawyer who will help you navigate all the merits of your case along with the remedies.
  • Sending a Legal Notice: After consulting with the lawyer a legal notice is required to be sent to the company as it serves as a final warning to the organisation to remedy the defect.
  • Filing a lawsuit: If the company fails to provide any resolution to the dispute then in such a case the aggrieved person may file a lawsuit against the issue in the court.
  • Engaging in Legal Proceedings: As soon as the lawsuit is filed both parties engage in the lawsuit thereby presenting evidence and their supportive arguments.
  • Obtaining a Judgment: As the last part of the process after taking into consideration all the evidence, arguments and witnesses from both sides. The judgment will be rendered by the court which may include the specific performance of the contract, monetary compensation, etc.

What are the Legal Remedies that can be provided by the Court?

  • Specific Performance of the Contract: The court in their judgment may provide an order to the company to either fulfill their obligations or take the same actions to remedy the situation.
  • Compensation/Damages: The court may with their judgment make the company pay the aggrieved person for all the damage/harm sufficed.
  • Injunction: An injunction is an order provided by the court to the company prohibiting the company from continuing or engaging in certain actions or behavior.
  • Termination of the Contract: Apart from the damages, injunction the court may sometimes declare the contract null and void thereby ordering the parties to return back to their pre-contractual positions

The Process of Suing a Company without a Lawyer 

An Employee without going into the details of the court procedures an employee can also opt-in to apply the Consumer Helpline. The National Consumer Helpline is an initiative of the Indian Government to assist consumers in lodging complaints and thereby obtaining redress for issues related to products or services. With the help of this platform, consumers who do not want to engage a lawyer can successfully sue the companies. 

Steps in Suing the Company without a Lawyer 

  • Identifying the Issue: The first step in the process is to identify the issue with the company and gather the evidence related to it which involves obtaining testamentary succession under the Indian Succession Act the Employment Agreement, Receipts or other relevant documents. 
  • Contacting the Company: Before proceeding with filing the complaint against the company it is better that the employee should consult and discuss the issue with the organisation and tries to resolve the issue amicably. Though maintenance of the record of each communication is must.
  • Filing a complaint with the Consumer Helpline: If the issue remains unresolved the employee can move ahead with filing the issue with the Consumer Helpline. Either they can visit the website or register their grievance by calling their toll-free number on 1800-11-4000.
  • Tracking of the Complaint: After submission of the grievance the reference number/application number is issued for further tracking down the status of the application. 
  • Attending the session for Alternative Dispute Redressal:  If the Consumer Helpline authorities believe the genuineness of the application they may arrange for a session of either mediation or arbitration to amicably settle the dispute between you and the employer. 
  • Approaching Consumer Court: If the issue cannot be resolved amicably the employee may approach the consumer court and file their complaint for grievance. The complaint is required to be filed at the Consumer Court which has the jurisdiction over your issue. 
  • Presenting the Case: Since no Lawyer is being engaged the employee is required to prepare and present their case in a concise fact and the evidence. 

Complaint against the Company by an Employee

The payment of an Employee’s salary is governed by the below-mentioned acts:

Industrial Dispute Act

Under section 33C of the Industrial Dispute Act specific provisions related to the recovery of money. If an employee or any person authorised by him or by the legal heirs if the employee is deceased may fill a request for the payment of salary to the relevant authority. If the authority is satisfied that the payments are due then the government may issue a certificate on this behalf. 

Payment of Wages Act

This act ensures that the employee or the workman receives their wages on time and also different government authorities are established under the act

Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition ) Act

Under Section 21 of this Act, it is the duty of the contractor to pay the wages to the employees before the end of the applicable period.

Shops and Establishment Act 1953

The provisions of this act state that where any worker is required to work for more than nine hours in a day and 40 hours in a week then they shall be entitled to the wages of twice their ordinary rate of the wages.

Remedies for obtaining the salary or wages from the Employer

Legal notice

The first step in every case is sending a legal notice to the employer. The legal notice should incorporate every fact that gives rise to the claim of the employee. A legal notice is required to be accompanied by a copy of the employment agreement, appointment letter and copy of the bank statement of the employee which will act as proof of non-payment of the salary and the details of the bonuses and perks.

Labour commissioner

An aggrieved employee may approach the labor commissioner by submitting a written complaint to their office along with all the important documents such as legal notice employment agreements and bank statements it is the duty of the labor commissioner to amicably settle the disputes between the parties.

Labour court

If the Labor Commissioner is not able to resolve the case then in such a circumstance the employee may move to the Labor Court. However, the case must be filed within a year of the issue and the labor court should decide the issue within 3 months. The presiding officer has the sole authority to extend this timeline by writing the specifications.

Civil court

Employees in managerial or executive positions may file a lawsuit for the non-payment of wages. However, it is always suggested that this method of remedy should not be the just choice of the employees.

National Company Law Tribunal

Employees are regarded as the operational creditors of the company. This is why the request for the recovery of the underpaid salary must be paid to the NCLT. However, some prerequisite conditions are required to be satisfied and these are as follows:

  • The applicant is required to be an employee of the firm
  • The underpaid salary should be Rs. 1 lakh.
  • The maximum amount of the overdue salary should be one crore

Conclusion

There is a long list of cases where an aggrieved customer, person or employee may move toward bringing a lawsuit against a company. A company can be held liable for fraud, non-payment of money or wages, misrepresentation, misleading advertisements, etc. It is the aggrieved party who is required to keep all the evidence related to the issue 

Frequently Asked Questions On the process of suing a company in India

Q 1. How do you make a complaint against a company?

Ans 1. For registering a complaint against a company is required to be filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Q2. How do I file a complaint against an employer in India?

Ans 2. The complaint is required to be made to the office of the Labor Bureau, Ministry of Labor and Employment, the Government of India.

Q 3. What to do if a company frauds you?

Ans 3. As an aggrieved person, you are required not to pay anything to the company and side file a report against the company.

Q 4. Can I take legal action against my employer?

Ans 4. Yes, definitely you can sue your employer by filing a civil suit.

Q 5. Where can I report a company?

Ans 5. The company can be reported to the National Consumer Commission.

Q 6. How to complain if the company does not give you a salary?

Ans 6. If your employer is not paying you enough then you should approach the labour commissioner.

Q 7. What is the 1930 helpline?

Ans 7. With this helpline number, online financial fraud can be reported to the national cybercrime portal.

Q 8. What is the punishment for scamming in India?

Ans 8. Under Section 447 the punishment for fraud is imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 6 months and which may extend up to 10 years and a fine.

Q9. Can I file a complaint online?

Ans 9. Yes, definitely an online complaint can be filed. Also, even fir can be filed online.

Q 10. Can a company hold your salary?

Ans 10. No, as long as an employee is coming to the office they are entitled to receive their salaries.

Need Expert Legal Guidance? Start Your Online Legal Consultation with Consumer Complaint Experts Today!

Ayush Kumar

Ayush Kumar

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