Practice Areas

Seven areas of practice, chosen because they are the problems people in Kolkata actually bring to a chamber. Each page explains what we handle and answers the questions we hear most often.

Property Law in Kolkata

Buying, selling or inheriting property in Kolkata runs through a chain of offices that rarely talk to each other: the Registrar under the Directorate of Registration and Stamp Revenue, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for mutation and assessment, the BL&LRO for land records, and WBRERA for anything bought from a developer. One missing link in that chain surfaces years later as a dispute.

Tenancy and Rent Disputes

Tenancy in Kolkata is governed by the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 and a long body of case law from the Calcutta High Court. The law protects tenants from arbitrary eviction, but it also gives landlords specific, enforceable grounds. Most disputes we see started with a weak or unregistered agreement.

Family Law and Succession

Family matters are decided in Kolkata by the Family Court, the District Judge's courts and, for probate and administration of estates within the city, the Original Side of the Calcutta High Court. Knowing which forum, which form and what the realistic timeline is saves months.

Money Recovery and Consumer Disputes

Unpaid invoices, dishonoured cheques, a builder or seller who will not deliver, a bank or insurer that will not pay: these are the most common problems that walk into any Kolkata chamber. Each has a specific, time-bound remedy, and missing the time limit is the most common reason a good claim fails.

Criminal Law and Bail

Criminal procedure in India changed on 1 July 2024 when the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the Penal Code. Older matters continue under the old law, new ones under the new, and the sections most people know have been renumbered. The practical steps, however, remain time-critical.

Business and Startup Law

Most Kolkata businesses get their legal structure from a chartered accountant and their contracts from a template. Both work until the first dispute, the first investor or the first employee who leaves with your client list. Getting the paperwork right at the start is far cheaper than litigating it later.

Media, Advertising and Reputation Law

Crepo Legal grew out of a communications background, and this is the practice area where that shows. Defamatory posts, fake reviews, leaked content, advertising complaints, influencer contracts and copyright claims sit at the intersection of law and public relations, and they need to be handled with both in mind.