Defendant

In Indian law, a defendant is the party against whom a civil suit is filed and who is called on to answer the claim made by the plaintiff. The term belongs mainly to civil litigation under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC). In criminal matters the equivalent party is the "accused", while in appeals, writ petitions and tribunal cases the person defending is usually called the "respondent" or, before consumer forums, the "opposite party".

Where the term is used

• Civil suits (CPC, 1908): the defendant answers a plaint seeking money, property, specific performance or an injunction.
• Criminal cases: the person charged is the accused, tried under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the IPC and CrPC from 1 July 2024.
• Tribunals and forums: NCLT, consumer and writ proceedings use "respondent" or "opposite party" rather than defendant.

Filing a defence

A defendant served with summons must file a written statement setting out the defence. Under Order VIII Rule 1 of the CPC this is due within 30 days, extendable by the court up to 90 days for ordinary suits. For commercial disputes under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the outer limit is 120 days from service, after which the right to file is forfeited and the statement cannot be taken on record.

Rights of a defendant

A defendant is entitled to a fair hearing and to be represented by a lawyer of choice under Article 22(1) of the Constitution, with free legal aid available under Article 39A and the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. In a criminal trial the accused enjoys the presumption of innocence and protection against self-incrimination under Article 20(3).