Our Clients: Who We Act For and How We Work With Each

Who are B.K. Singh & Associates' clients?

Most of our clients are ordinary people and small businesses in Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida who have a specific problem: an FIR, a bounced cheque, a builder who has not delivered a flat, a bank notice under SARFAESI, a marriage that has broken down, a partner who has taken over the business. A smaller share are companies and organisations that need ongoing advice or are involved in larger disputes before the NCLT, the Delhi High Court or arbitral tribunals.

Clients come to us from across the NCR and, for some matters, from other states and abroad. The Dwarka office serves much of west and south-west Delhi, and the Vaishali office is convenient for east Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida. For cases in other states, the firm works with associate counsel there, and Supreme Court filings go through an Advocate-on-Record.

Which kinds of clients do we act for, and in which forums?

A quick map of the main client groups, the problems they usually bring, and where those problems are decided.

How do we work with individuals facing a criminal case?

For someone accused, the first job is to understand exactly what the FIR alleges, which sections of the BNS are invoked, whether they are bailable, and whether arrest is a real risk. In offences punishable with up to seven years, police are expected to issue a notice of appearance under Section 35 of the BNSS rather than arrest automatically, and the Supreme Court's guidance in Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar still applies. Where arrest is likely, the question becomes anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the BNSS; where it has happened, regular bail.

Complainants are clients too. A person whose complaint the police will not register can approach the DCP, file a complaint before the magistrate under Section 175(3) of the BNSS asking for investigation, or file a complaint case under Section 223. Victims of cyber fraud need to report on the 1930 helpline quickly so that money can be frozen. The criminal law practice page sets out the whole process from FIR to appeal.

With criminal clients we are especially careful about what is said on the phone and in writing, and about family members who want to be involved. We will speak to the family, but the instructions come from the client, and some things the client tells us stay between the client and the advocate.

What do families usually come to us for?

Family clients bring divorce, maintenance, custody and domestic violence matters, and also property problems inside the family: partition of ancestral property, disputes over a parent's will, succession certificates for bank accounts and shares, and arrangements between siblings. These matters are emotional, and part of our job is to keep the legal question separate from the family history.

Where both spouses agree to part, a mutual consent divorce under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act is usually far quicker and cheaper than a contested case, and the six-month waiting period can be waived by the court in suitable cases. Where they do not agree, maintenance, custody and residence are often the real fight. The family and divorce law page explains the options.

Senior citizens form a distinct group. Parents being neglected or pushed out of their homes by children or relatives can apply to the maintenance tribunal under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007, which is generally quicker than a civil suit. Advocate Sadhna Singh handles most family matters and is used to clients who need things explained more than once.

Do we act for employees and government servants?

Yes. Central Government employees with disputes about promotion, seniority, pay fixation, pension, transfer or disciplinary action generally go to the Central Administrative Tribunal, after using the departmental remedies available, and within the one-year limitation under Section 21 of the Administrative Tribunals Act. The service law and CAT practice page covers this in detail.

Private sector employees come with unpaid dues, gratuity, wrongful termination and workplace harassment complaints. The four Labour Codes came into force on 21 November 2025, replacing older labour laws, and state rules are still being notified, so the first step is to check which law and which authority apply. Managerial staff usually have a contractual claim in the civil court rather than an industrial dispute. The labour and industrial laws page explains the difference.

How do we serve MSMEs, traders and small businesses?

For small businesses, the most common problem is money owed: a buyer who has stopped paying, post-dated cheques that have bounced, a contractor who has walked away. The choice of remedy matters more than anything else. A cheque bounce complaint under Section 138 of the NI Act has strict time limits; the cheque bounce lawyer page sets them out. A summary suit under Order 37 of the CPC suits claims based on written contracts and invoices. A registered micro or small enterprise supplying goods or services can claim through the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council under Section 18 of the MSMED Act 2006, with interest under the Act.

Claims of ₹3 lakh and above arising from commercial transactions go to the commercial courts, and pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act is compulsory unless urgent interim relief is needed. The commercial court lawyer page explains how these cases run in Delhi.

Owners of small businesses are busy and usually want to know three things: how much they can realistically recover, how long it may take, and what it will cost to try. We answer those questions at the start, and we tell a client plainly when a claim is not worth chasing because the other side has nothing to recover from.

What about companies, startups and partnership firms?

Companies and startups come to us at two points: when setting up and when something goes wrong. At the setting-up stage the work is incorporation through SPICe+, partnership and LLP agreements, shareholder agreements, and the commercial contracts the business runs on; the company registration page covers the first steps. Registration of a partnership firm with the Registrar of Firms matters later, because an unregistered firm faces restrictions when it wants to sue.

When things go wrong, the disputes are usually between shareholders or directors, with suppliers or customers, or with creditors. Oppression and mismanagement petitions under Sections 241 and 242 of the Companies Act and insolvency proceedings under the IBC are heard by the NCLT; the NCLT lawyer page describes the New Delhi benches and the procedure. For a company, the person giving us instructions should be authorised by a board resolution, and we ask for it at the start.

Do we act for homebuyers, builders, or both?

Both, but never on opposite sides of the same project. Homebuyers bring delayed possession, refund claims, defects and title problems. Under Section 18 of the RERA Act, a buyer can seek a refund with interest or interest for every month of delay, and the Supreme Court has held in Newtech Promoters v State of UP that buyers may choose between the RERA authority and the consumer commission. Which forum is better depends on the amount, the relief sought and how far the project has progressed.

Builders and developers come to us for project documentation, agreements for sale, RERA compliance and defending complaints. When a builder appeals a RERA order to the Appellate Tribunal, Section 43(5) requires the promoter to deposit the amount ordered first, which shapes the decision whether to appeal at all. The real estate and infrastructure laws page covers both sides.

Before we take any real estate matter, we check whether we already act for anyone connected with the same project. If we act for buyers in a project, we will not act for that builder, and the other way round.

How do we help RWAs and apartment owners' associations?

RWAs bring disputes that affect many households at once: maintenance charges and how they are calculated, handover of common areas and the maintenance fund from the builder, use of parking and open spaces, disputes over elections and bye-laws, and builders who have not obtained the completion certificate. In Delhi, most RWAs are registered societies under the Societies Registration Act 1860. In Ghaziabad and Noida, apartment owners' associations are governed by the Uttar Pradesh apartment ownership law of 2010, along with the society or association's own bye-laws.

Where many residents have the same complaint against a builder, a single complaint under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 can be filed by a recognised consumer association or by one or more consumers on behalf of all with the same interest, with the commission's permission. This saves cost and avoids hundreds of separate cases. Consumer remedies are explained on the consumer laws page.

With an RWA, we take instructions from the managing committee under a resolution, and we report to the committee rather than to individual residents. Internal disputes between factions of the same RWA are a different matter; we act for one side only, or for neither if we already advise the association.

How do NRIs instruct us from abroad?

NRI clients usually have a property in Delhi NCR that has been encroached upon, sold by a relative on a forged document or occupied by a tenant who will not leave; a matrimonial case filed in India; or a succession matter after a parent's death. Most of the work can be done without the client flying in for every date. We meet on video, receive documents by email, and file the originals when the court needs them.

The key document is a power of attorney in favour of a trusted person in India. If signed abroad, it should be attested by the Indian embassy or consulate or apostilled, depending on the country, and then stamped in India within the time allowed by stamp law after it arrives (three months under the Indian Stamp Act). For property sales, remember that a GPA does not by itself transfer title; the Supreme Court said so in Suraj Lamp v State of Haryana.

Courts in Delhi often allow evidence or appearances by video in suitable cases, and exemption from personal appearance can be sought. Some steps, such as the second motion in a mutual consent divorce or a property registration, may still require presence in person or careful arrangements, and we explain this early so travel can be planned.

Do we represent borrowers, guarantors or banks?

Most of our banking work is for borrowers and guarantors: people and businesses who have received a demand notice under Section 13(2) of the SARFAESI Act, whose property has been taken into possession, or who are facing an Original Application before the Debts Recovery Tribunal. A borrower has 60 days to respond to the demand notice and can file an application under Section 17 before the DRT within 45 days of a measure taken under Section 13(4). The DRT lawyer page describes the tribunals in Delhi.

Many borrower matters end not in a court order but in a settlement with the bank. Our job is often to stop a rushed auction, buy time through the proper legal route and help the borrower put forward a workable one-time settlement proposal. Personal guarantors of company loans now also face insolvency applications under Section 95 of the IBC; the insolvency lawyer page covers this.

On the creditor side, we act for businesses and individuals recovering dues through suits, cheque bounce complaints, arbitration and insolvency petitions. We do not act for a lender and a borrower in the same matter, and we disclose at the outset if a conflict could arise.

Do we act for landlords, tenants and property owners?

Yes. Landlords in Delhi seeking eviction of a tenant for their own bona fide need use Section 14(1)(e) of the Delhi Rent Control Act 1958, where it applies, through a summary procedure before the Rent Controller. Premises outside the Act's protection go to the civil court. In Ghaziabad and Noida, tenancies are governed by Uttar Pradesh's 2021 tenancy law, which has its own Rent Authority. Tenants come to us when they face eviction, illegal disconnection of water or electricity, or refusal to return a security deposit.

Property owners also bring possession suits against encroachers, declaration and cancellation suits against forged sale deeds, and partition suits. Limitation is the trap here: a suit for possession based on title has 12 years, but many related claims have only three. The civil and property lawyer page explains how property cases run in Delhi's courts.

How do we take on a new client?

The steps are the same whoever the client is. Only the documents and the people involved change.

1. First contact

   You call, send a WhatsApp message or fill in the online enquiry form with a short description of the problem and the other party's name. We ask for the other party's name so we can check conflicts before you tell us anything confidential.

2. Conflict check

   We check whether we act or have acted for the other side or anyone closely connected. If there is a conflict, we tell you straight away and do not take the matter, without asking for the details of your case.

3. First meeting

   You meet Advocate Sadhna Singh, in person at Dwarka or Vaishali or on video, with your papers. She reads them, asks questions and, where needed, discusses the matter with Advocate B.K. Singh, who decides the approach and tells you plainly what can and cannot be achieved.

4. Engagement and fees

   If you decide to go ahead, fees are agreed in writing, stage by stage, with court fees and other out-of-pocket costs shown separately. We sign a vakalatnama only after the scope of the work is clear.

5. Running the matter

   We send you copies of what is filed, tell you the outcome of each date and the next date, and ask for instructions before any significant step such as filing an appeal or accepting a settlement.

6. Closing the file

   When the matter ends, we explain the final order, any appeal period, and what you need to do to comply or enforce. Original documents are returned to you.

What should each type of client bring to the first meeting?

Bring copies, not originals, unless we ask for them. Organise them in date order if you can; it shortens the meeting.

How do we handle conflicts of interest?

An advocate cannot act against a client in the same or a related matter, and cannot use what one client said in confidence for another. So before we hear the details of any new matter, we check the names of the parties against our records. In practice, conflicts arise most often in family matters (both spouses approaching the firm), real estate (buyers and a builder in the same project), RWAs (rival committees) and businesses (two partners falling out).

Where there is a conflict, we decline and suggest you consult another advocate. We do not explain why, because that would itself reveal something about another client. Where a possible conflict arises later in a matter, we tell the client and, if needed, withdraw in a way that does not prejudice their case.

Why don't we publish client names, logos or testimonials?

Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules bars advocates from advertising or soliciting work, and publishing client names, logos, testimonials or case wins counts as advertising. The rules allow a website to give information about the firm, its advocates and its areas of practice, which is what this page does.

There is a second reason. Clients come to a lawyer at difficult moments, and many would not want anyone to know they faced a criminal case, a divorce or a bank recovery. Communications between an advocate and a client are protected under Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, and we treat the fact of the engagement itself as confidential. If you need a reference, for example as a company choosing counsel, ask us and we will see what can properly be shared.

What can every client expect from us?

• A straight first opinion. What the law says, what the documents show, the risks, and whether going to court is sensible at all.
• Fees in writing. Agreed stage by stage, with court fees and out-of-pocket costs separate. No surprise bills at the end.
• Copies of everything filed. Every plaint, reply, application and order, so that you know exactly what has been said on your behalf.
• News after every date. What happened, what the court directed, the next date and what you need to do before it.
• Instructions before big steps. We do not file an appeal, withdraw a case or accept a settlement without your instructions.
• No promises about the result. We can tell you how such matters usually go. We cannot tell you how a particular judge will decide, and any lawyer who promises that is not being honest with you.

When do we advise a client not to go to court?

More often than people expect. A small money claim against someone with no assets, a family property dispute where litigation will cost more than the share in question, a consumer complaint filed after the two-year limitation with no ground for condonation, or a criminal complaint filed mainly to put pressure in a civil dispute: in each case we say so plainly. Courts in Delhi are crowded, and a weak case can take years and still be lost.

Alternatives are often better. A well-drafted legal notice settles many disputes. Mediation at the court-annexed centres, pre-institution mediation in commercial matters and Lok Adalats, whose awards are final, resolve a large share of cheque bounce, family and money disputes. We sometimes decline a matter outright if we think the client wants the court process used for the wrong reasons.

Can we act for clients outside Delhi NCR?

Yes, in several ways. Clients from other states often have matters in Delhi itself: a case before the Delhi High Court, a tribunal in New Delhi such as the NCLT Principal Bench, the NCDRC, the NGT or the CAT Principal Bench, or a Supreme Court matter. For cases in courts outside Delhi NCR, the firm works with associate counsel in that city, with our advocates handling strategy and drafting.

Meetings can be held on video, and documents shared by email or WhatsApp. The offices and associate offices page explains how this works in practice and how to reach both offices. Fees for work outside Delhi NCR, including the associate counsel's fee and travel where needed, are agreed in writing before the work starts.