Supreme Court: Title Not Mandatory for Valid Legal Notice

The Supreme Court has said that a notice doesn’t need to be titled “legal notice” to be valid.

What matters is whether the notice clearly explains the issue, mentions the breach or default, warns of possible legal action, and is not misleading.

The case involved UPSIDC canceling land allotment due to payment default. The allottee claimed only one of the three notices was valid since it was formally titled. However, the Court held that all three communications met the legal requirements.

Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh ruled that substance is more important than the label in legal notices.