There are various kinds of rights provided to citizens of our country—fundamental rights, constitutional rights, legal rights, human rights, civil rights, etc. Legal rights are the rights provided by the way of acts and legislation. It is recognized and protected by law. There are some legal rights valid throughout the country but states also have their own legal rights provided to the citizens of their state. However, many such rights remain unnoticed by us. They are not as absolute as fundamental rights and can be changed by repealing the act.
Some Legal Rights Used in Daily Life:-
- Loan Recovery
- A loan given to any friend or relative cannot be recovered after 3 years. As mentioned in the limitation act of 1963, the law cannot help a person whose loan has been due for more than 3 years.
- Bank Lunch Time
- There is no lunch break for bank employees. They divide into groups for taking different slots to eat lunch. Bank employees cannot deny a customer due to lunch hours. There must be at least 1-2 employees present during the business hour.
- Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956
- A person cannot adopt a male child if the man or woman already has a son or son’s son. There must be a difference of at least 21 years between the adoptive parent(s) and the child. The parent(s) must be of sound mind.
- Women Arrest Law
- Women cannot be arrested from 6 pm to 6 am. There must be a female constable during the arrest.
- F.I.R. Rejection
- A police officer cannot refuse to file an F.I.R. of cognizable offenses. Under section 166 of IPC, if a police officer refuses to file an F.I.R. of a rape case, he can be imprisoned for 2 years.
- Cognizable offenses are usually serious in nature.
- Hotel Facilities
- Drinking water and using the washroom are the basic rights of an individual that he can utilize in a hotel. No hotel can deny both these facilities.
- Police 24*7
- A police officer is always on duty so he cannot refuse to help a person in case a crime has been committed.
- Pregnant? Office rights
- No employer can terminate the contract of a pregnant employee because it is mentioned in the Maternity benefit act. And there is the provision of imprisonment up to 3 years.
- Traffic Police- Car Keys?
- Traffic police are not allowed to take the keys to your vehicle while checking your documents like driving license, insurance, etc.
- Multiple Fines
- A person cannot be charged with the same offense twice a day. For example, if you have already paid the fine for driving without a helmet then you do not need to pay the fine if you are caught again.
- E-Locker
- It is not necessary to carry your driving license or documents every time. mParivahan is an app used to store all your documents related to motor-vehicle like RC, driving license, insurance, etc. DigiLocker is an app that can be used to store important government documents. The documents from these apps can be used in place of physical documents.
- Gas Blast Claim
- A gas company needs to provide compensation of up to 50 lakhs in case of an accident. A gas company needs to be insured for such happenings.
- Live In Relationship
- Individuals above the age of 18 years can marry or live with whomever they want. Law cannot stop a man and a woman above the age of 18 years from living together. It is completely legal and valid to be in a live-in relationship in India.
- MRP
- A shopkeeper cannot charge more than the MRP. MRP is the maximum retail price. Therefore, if a shopkeeper asks you to pay more than the MRP of a product, he is violating your legal right.
- Hotel Rights- Unmarried Couples
- Man and women above the age of 18 years can stay at a hotel together. It is not necessary to be married to stay at a hotel.
- Weekly Holiday Act
- All employees have a right to a day off in a week. This is guaranteed by the Weekly holiday act.
- Cinema Regulation Act
- Carrying water and food inside a cinema or theatre is also a legal right. The employees of the cinema/theatre cannot stop a customer from taking water and food inside.
- GST on MRP
- GST cannot be charged on MRP. MRP is already the highest price at which a product can be sold.
- Branded Carry Bag Charges
- Branded outlets cannot charge extra for the carry bags they provide.
- Divorce
- For divorce, the couple must be married for at least a year.
- Digital Evidence
- The court has permitted using digital evidence in proceedings of the court. WhatsApp, email, CD, etc can now be used as evidence.
- Zero F.I.R.
- An F.I.R can be registered anywhere. If it is written in a non-jurisdictional area, it is registered as zero F.I.R. and Then send to the concerned area.
- Non- jurisdictional area refers to the police station that does not have jurisdiction over the area where crime is committed.
- Arrest Rights
- A person arrested has a right to know the reason for his arrest. He also has the right to inform his family or lawyer.
- Female Adoption
- A single male cannot adopt a female child.
- Petrol Pump Facilities
- Water, washroom, and air are the 3 facilities that petrol pumps have to provide for free.
- Right To Privacy
- The right to privacy is protected by the supreme court of India. In the judgment in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, the right to privacy is declared as our fundamental right.
Conclusion
After reading these rights, you must have noticed how many of these rights were waved by you because you were unaware of them. Every citizen of our country must be aware of these rights. It is not only the responsibility of a lawyer or court to protect your rights, if you yourself are not aware of their existence you won’t even know when they are hampered with. There should be a basic awareness about rights in the general public. Better late than never. After reading this blog, you are now aware about some of the common legal rights that you may have not noticed.
