Courts and dispute-resolution bodies
India's justice system includes regular civil and criminal courts, specialised tribunals, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, and statutory commissions such as the National Human Rights Commission and National Commission for Women. The correct forum depends on the nature of the dispute, applicable statute, territorial jurisdiction and, where relevant, pecuniary jurisdiction.
District and trial courts
District and subordinate courts ordinarily handle civil and criminal matters at the trial stage, subject to the jurisdiction assigned by procedural and special laws. The eCourts system provides online access to case status, orders, cause lists and, in participating courts, electronic filing services.
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 establishes a three-tier consumer redressal structure comprising District Commissions, State Commissions and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Current pecuniary jurisdiction is governed by the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021.
Online consumer case filing and related services are now available through the Government's e-Jagriti platform. e-Jagriti states that the earlier e-Daakhil, OCMS, CMS and Confonet systems were subsumed into e-Jagriti from 1 January 2025.
Tribunals
Tribunals are specialised adjudicatory bodies created by statute to decide particular classes of disputes, such as taxation, company law, service matters, debt recovery and other regulated fields. Their jurisdiction, appeal route, limitation period and procedure depend on the parent legislation and applicable rules. Before filing, verify the latest statute, rules and forum-specific procedure.
Human rights and women's commissions
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, accepts and tracks complaints through its official complaint system. The National Commission for Women (NCW), established under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, also operates an online complaints registration and monitoring system for eligible complaints concerning women's rights.