Award : It means interim or final determination of any dispute under Arbitration Act and conciliation Act, 1996 or Industrial Disputes Act.

District Court : Principal Civil court of a notified district having jurisdiction over the area.

Judge : Officer Presiding the court having judicial or quasi-judicial functions.

Suit : Claim of a civil nature.

Plaintiff : One who present a plaint (lawsuit) for seeking a relief from the court.

Defendant : Party against which an action is brought for seeking a particular relief.

Written Statement : Also known as Statement of Defendant, which is also part of pleading thereby giving reply to the points made in the plaint. It is also known as `Jawab Dawa’ i.e., Reply to the claim.

Injunction : Restraint order passed by civil court against a person to refrain from doing some overt or covert act.

Application : It has not been defined in Code of Civil Procedure and General Clauses Act, however, it means `a request, oral or in writing’. It also includes a petition.

Rent Controller : Presiding Officer of a Tribunal under Rent Control Act having judicial function, but is not a court in strict sense.

Bailee :  on whom personal property is entrusted for a particular purpose, like a common carrier.

Will : A testamentary document bequeathing rights in the property of the testator to the persons in whose favour will is executed.

Codicil : Codicil has been derived from a latin word `codicillus’. Codicil means a Supplement or Appendix to the main will. It amends, modifies, add, alter, explain or revokes the existing will or part of it.

Ex-parte : A judicial proceeding conducted in the absence of one party and for the benefit of other is called Ex-parte. The party proceeded exparte can always join the proceeding, however, in case of any  adverse order being  passed against him, he can apply for setting aside exparte order to  relegate back to the same position as on the date of passing of exparte order.

Sine-die-adjournment : Adjournment of the case to a date, which is not fixed. It does not terminate the proceedings and case is still pending with all interlocutory orders.

Evidence : Oral statement or a document to corroborate and/or prove existence of a fact.

Deposition : Oral statement by a witness

Fact : Statement of fact, which is proved by a cogent evidence. ( Illustration: “Ram is clever”. It is a statement of fact, which may or may not be correct. )

Burden of Proof : It is the duty of one party to a lawsuit to prove a disputed question of fact. One who alleges a statement of fact is in law is burdened with its proof. That initial burden to prove a disputed fact, never shifts on the other party.

Divorce : Judicial order terminating a marriage.

Judicial Seperation : Court order allowing the parties to marriage to live separately without terminating marriage.

Maintenance : Expenses to be paid to the other dependent spouse; or by adult independent children to aged parents for their upkeep.

Domestic Violence : All sort of psychological, emotional, physical and economic abuses carried upon women and children in domestic relationship to take control of the relationship.

Cohabitation : Act of living together and having sexual relationship (especially without getting married)

Reconciliation : To patch up without putting guilt for the past conduct and to pick up thread for a new life. It’s peace building approach and is part of a less common approach, which is transformative or relationship centered often associated with Mediation Process.

Limitation : A statute of limitations is a law that dictates the period till when a right can be enforced in court of law; after expiry of limitation period the right may exist but the same cannot be enforced.

Court fees : Court fees Act, 1870 defines the costs of handling a lawsuit in the court of law to be paid by the plaintiff.

Issues : Disputed question of facts between the parties, which also includes legal question.

Wife : A women joined in marriage; and also include a woman who has been divorced or has obtained divorced, but not remarried.

Marriage : It differs from person to person. In Muslims it is a contract and under amended Hindu Marriage Act it is sacramental agreement.

Live-in Relation : A living arrangement between unmarried couple for a long term relationship, which has a semblance with marriage.

Void : Agreements or contracts, which are not valid or enforceable being against the law.

Ab-initio :  From the start. 

Resjudicata : A mixed question of law and fact determined in the earlier proceeding between the same parties, for the same reason cannot be questioned in a subsequent proceeding between the same parties.