Someone owes you money — which remedy actually applies
Six routes, each suited to different documents. Picking the wrong one costs years. A decision guide based on what you hold on paper.
Published · Lawdship
There is no single debt recovery remedy in India. There are several, and the right one depends almost entirely on what documents you hold.
Start with limitation
Three years from the date the debt became due, for most contractual and money claims, under the Limitation Act, 1963.
The exception matters more than the rule: a written acknowledgement of the debt, or a part payment, made before the three years expire, restarts the clock from that date. A signed ledger confirmation, a balance confirmation for audit, an email saying "we will clear this by March" — any of these can revive a claim you assumed was dead.
This is the first thing to check, because everything else is academic if you are out of time.
Match the remedy to your documents
You hold a cheque that bounced — Section 138 complaint, but only within the windows: 30 days from the return memo to send notice, 15 days for payment, then 30 days to file. Run a civil recovery suit alongside it.
You hold a written contract, invoice or acknowledgement — a summary suit under Order XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure. This is materially better than an ordinary suit, because the defendant must obtain the court's leave to defend, and leave is refused where there is no genuine defence. A defendant with no real answer cannot simply drag it out.
Your contract has an arbitration clause — arbitration, and the civil court will refuse to hear it. Invoke by notice, appoint an arbitrator, and apply under Section 11 to the High Court if the other side will not agree.
You are a registered MSME and a buyer has delayed payment — refer the dispute to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council. The statutory interest under the MSMED Act is punitive, compounding monthly at several times the bank rate, which frequently brings buyers to the table faster than litigation.
The debtor is a company and the default is clear and undisputed — insolvency proceedings before the NCLT, above the ₹1 crore threshold. Be honest with yourself about "undisputed": tribunals dismiss petitions filed as pressure tactics where a genuine pre-existing dispute exists, and you will have wasted the filing.
You hold nothing but WhatsApp messages and a verbal understanding — harder, but not hopeless. Start with a legal notice, because a reply that admits the debt converts your position entirely.
Send the notice first, almost always
A properly drafted legal notice recovers a meaningful proportion of dues without any litigation at all. It costs a fraction of a suit, it preserves limitation, and the reply — or the silence — becomes evidence.
The commonest error is sending it informally or late. Registered post with acknowledgement due, plus email, with every proof retained.
Then think about execution before you file
This is the step almost everyone skips, and it is the one that determines whether you see money.
Before spending on litigation, ask what the debtor actually has that can be attached. A bank account, a property, receivables from their own customers, a vehicle. A decree against a person with no attachable assets is an expensive piece of paper.
Where assets exist but may be disposed of, an application for attachment before judgment can be made along with the plaint. It is underused and it is often the difference between a real recovery and a notional one.
And be honest about proportionality
For small claims, the combined cost of court fees, professional fees and several years of hearings can exceed what you are chasing. A notice, a settlement at a discount, or writing it off can be the rational answer.
Any advocate worth engaging will say that before taking your money.
General information, not legal advice. Which remedy fits depends on your documents and on when the debt fell due.
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