Three documents, three very different levels of urgency. Knowing which one you're holding changes everything about what to do next — and how worried to actually be.
Someone has a grievance and is formally telling you before (possibly) going to court. It is usually the start of a negotiation, not the end of one.
Low — nobody is arresting you, no case exists yet.
You are being called to appear before the court (or respond) in a real, numbered case. This is formal legal process — it has a case number you can verify on eCourts.
Moderate — it's serious, but it's a scheduled process, not an emergency.
The court has directed something: pay, vacate, appear, stop doing something. It carries a case number and the court's seal, and it is binding.
Take it seriously — but even orders have appeal routes and timelines.
| Legal notice | Court summons | Court order | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who sends it | An advocate, on behalf of a person or company — not a court. | A court, after a case has actually been filed against you. | A judge — it is a decision the court has already made. |
| What it means | Someone has a grievance and is formally telling you before (possibly) going to court. It is usually the start of a negotiation, not the end of one. | You are being called to appear before the court (or respond) in a real, numbered case. This is formal legal process — it has a case number you can verify on eCourts. | The court has directed something: pay, vacate, appear, stop doing something. It carries a case number and the court's seal, and it is binding. |
| How scared should you be? | Low — nobody is arresting you, no case exists yet. | Moderate — it's serious, but it's a scheduled process, not an emergency. | Take it seriously — but even orders have appeal routes and timelines. |
| What to do next | Read it calmly, note the reply window (commonly 15–30 days), and send a considered reply within that window. Many disputes end right here. | Engage an advocate promptly and appear (or respond) as directed. Not appearing can lead the case to proceed without you — don't ignore it. | Comply with what it directs, or appeal within the limitation period — decide that with an advocate, quickly. Never just sit on a court order. |
Got a legal notice? You have a reply window — use it. A calm, well-drafted reply within the stated days often settles the matter without any court. You are not being sued yet.
Got a summons? A case exists. Engage an advocate now and appear or respond as directed — the date on the summons is not optional. Verify the case number on the official eCourts portal so you know exactly what has been filed.
Got a court order? The court has decided something. With an advocate, decide fast between complying and appealing — appeals have strict time limits, and ignoring an order can lead to enforcement against you.
Short answer: yes, for all three — and that is exactly why the fakes work. The channel it arrived on tells you almost nothing. What it says, and whether a real case sits behind it, tells you everything.
Advocates routinely send notices as a PDF by email or WhatsApp, and Indian courts have accepted electronic service. Arriving by email is not, on its own, a sign of a fake. Judge it the usual way: a named advocate with an enrolment number, an office address, specific facts about your matter, and a reply window measured in days.
Since 2020 courts have been permitted to serve summons and notices electronically alongside the usual channels, so an e-summons can be genuine. It must carry a case number, and usually a sixteen-character CNR number, that you can look up yourself on the national eCourts portal. A summons for a case that does not exist on eCourts is not a summons.
A genuine order is a document the court itself has issued into its own record — you can pull a copy against the case number. An “order” that exists only as an attachment somebody emailed you, with no case you can find, is not one. This is the shape almost every fake takes, because it is the document that frightens people most.
Scammers dress threats up as all three of these documents. A real summons or order carries a case number you can verify on eCourts; a real notice names an advocate with an enrolment number. If yours demands UPI payment or threatens arrest within hours, read how to tell if a legal notice is real before you do anything else.
Usually not, and it is the easiest of the three to check. Every genuine Indian court case carries a case number and a sixteen-character CNR number that you can search yourself on the national eCourts portal at ecourts.gov.in. If the email gives you no such number, or the number returns no case, there is no order. If it also demands payment to a UPI ID or gives you a deadline in hours, it is a scam — report it at cybercrime.gov.in or on 1930.
Yes. Since 2020 courts have been permitted to serve summons and notices electronically, alongside post and personal service, and many courts now do. So an emailed summons is not automatically fake. What makes it genuine is the case behind it: look the case number up on eCourts. The delivery channel proves nothing either way.
No. A seal, a letterhead and a signature are the easiest parts of a document to copy, and fake court documents are usually well made — that is the whole point of them. The part a forger cannot fake is the court's own record. Verify the case number on eCourts rather than judging the document by how official it looks.
A scam. Someone emails or calls claiming to be from the police, CBI, customs or TRAI, says a case has been registered against you, and keeps you on a video call for hours while extracting money as “bail” or “verification”. There is no concept of digital arrest in Indian law. No agency arrests anyone over a video call, and none of them takes money to make a case go away. Hang up, stop paying, and report it at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930.
Replying alone does little harm — it confirms your address is live, nothing more. Stop the conversation there, do not send money or documents, and do not join any call. If you have already paid, report it at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 the same day; the earlier a transfer is reported, the better the chance of it being held. Then check what the document actually was before deciding anything else.
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Agreements.co.in provides legal information, not legal advice. This page explains documents in general terms and is not a substitute for a lawyer. For advice on your specific situation, consult a qualified advocate.