User Agreement & Terms of Service

Last Updated: January 202615 min read
CRITICAL NOTICE: THIS IS A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT.

By clicking “I Agree” or by using the Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms... limit Bharat Legal Chambers’s liability and require you to indemnify Bharat Legal Chambers for losses arising from your misconduct, and mandate binding arbitration for most commercial disputes.

1. INTRODUCTION AND PLATFORM VISION

1.1 Contract Formation and Acceptance

This User Agreement and Terms of Service (hereinafter referred as “Agreement” or “TOS”) governs your access and use of the services (“Services”) provided by Bharat Legal Chambers (referred to herein as “Platform,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). The Services include the professional social networking features, the Workstation and the Case Management System (CMS), and all the associated features, websites and future mobile applications. By clicking “Accept” during registration, you enter into a binding contract. You confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and a licensed professional (an “User”).

1.2 Our Vision

Our platform is created with a sincere intention to support young professionals in accessing genuine professional opportunities and connecting with environments where their abilities can develop meaningfully. We aim to assist in the smooth coordination of day-to-day professional work by offering digital tools that enhance efficiency and communication, while ensuring that all professional work, responsibilities, and professional decisions will remain solely with the individuals involved...

1.3 Legal Identity (Intermediary Status)

You acknowledge and agree that the Platform functions strictly as an “Intermediary” under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules framed thereunder. The Platform does not initiate, solicit, influence, direct, evaluate, authenticate, modify, or curate any legal advice, content, communication, contract, or professional engagement exchanged between Professionals...

1.4 Incorporated Documents & Compliance Commitment

You acknowledge and agree that the policies listed below form an integral and legally binding part of this Agreement.

  • Code of Conduct & Community Guidelines — Outlines the expected ethical and professional behaviour of all Professionals using the Platform.
  • Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy — Explains how personal and professional information is collected, stored, used, processed, and protected on the Platform.
  • Payment, Escrow, and Tax Policy — Sets out the rules governing all financial interactions on the Platform.
  • Workstation Master Service Agreement (MSA) — Establishes the legal framework governing professional engagements formed between Professionals.

2. DEFINITION

Professional/User: Any individual who is using the Services of this platform and who is a licensed legal practitioner enrolled as per concerned Bar Council of India Rules and Advocates Act, 1961.

3. PLATFORM LICENSE AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

3.1 Authorized Platform Access and Limited Usage Rights

Upon strict and continuous compliance with these Terms, Bharat Legal Chambers grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable and revocable right to access and use the Services solely through the official web platform and authorized mobile application...

3.2 Intellectual Property Ownership

All intellectual property rights in the Platform and Services, including the software, source code, databases, algorithms, user interface elements, design elements, trade names, trademarks, logos, graphics, and all related proprietary materials, are and shall remain the exclusive property of Bharat Legal Chambers and its licensors...

3.3 Restrictions on Use

  • Reverse-Engineering and Code Manipulation: Decompile, disassemble, translate, hack, modify, alter, or attempt to extract or derive the source code...
  • Automated Extraction and Data Scraping: Use crawlers, bots, spiders, scrapers, offline readers, or any automated or semi-automated tools...
  • Security Circumvention: Bypass, disable, remove, or interfere with any authentication, encryption, payment protection, wallet/token infrastructure...
  • Commercial Misuse and White-Labelling: Copy, replicate, reproduce, lease, sell, sublicense, rent, “white-label,” or commercially exploit any part of the Platform...
  • Derivative or Competing Works: Build or attempt to build any system, product, or service that competes with, substitutes, mirrors, or is based on the Platform...
  • AI Training and Model Development Prohibition: Use any Content, workflow data, case-files, documents, internal platform data, or user-generated information for training machine learning models...
  • Unauthorized Access and Account Misuse: Access the Platform by means other than the official interfaces provided by Bharat Legal Chambers...

4. USER OBLIGATIONS AND CONTENT LICENSING

4.1 User Verification & Fraud Prevention

You agree to fully comply with all identity-verification and professional-verification procedures prescribed by the Platform, including but not limited to Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, submission of government-issued identity documents, professional registration certificates, and any other documents or declarations requested for due-diligence purposes...

4.2 Professional Ethics Compliance & Permissible Use

You warrant that your conduct on the Platform will, at all times, strictly adhere to the ethical standards, duties, and professional dignity expected from legal professionals, including compliance with the Bar Council of India (BCI) rules and the Platform’s Professional Code of Conduct & Community Guidelines...

4.3 Content Licensing

For any content that you voluntarily share in sections of the Platform visible to the wider professional community, you grant the Platform a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, and sublicensable license to host, store, format, display, and make such Content accessible to other registered Professionals...

4.4 Confidential Work Product and Case-Related Materials

All documents, files, drafts, notes, communications, and any other material uploaded, exchanged, or generated within the private areas of the Platform including the Workstation, case rooms, document CMS, messaging tools, and escrow rooms, will remain your exclusive property at all times...

4.5 IPR Takedown Procedure

The Platform follows a structured and fair IPR-takedown mechanism. Upon receiving a bona fide written IPR infringement notice supported with appropriate evidence, the Platform will review the allegation and notify the user...

5. NON-CIRCUMVENTION AND COMMERCIAL INTEGRITY

5.1 Prohibition on Direct Contact

You are strictly prohibited from soliciting, offering, accepting, or performing legal services or making or receiving payments with any User you became connected to through Bharat Legal Chambers outside the Platform for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of first introduction, unless you complete the formal opt-out procedure...

5.2 Prohibited Communication

You shall not share personal contact details (including but not limited to phone numbers, WhatsApp numbers, personal email IDs, social media profiles, or physical addresses) with any other User before a Service Contract is executed through the Workstation...

5.3 Consequences of Circumvention

Any act of circumvention, attempted circumvention, or facilitation of circumvention shall entitle Bharat Legal Chambers to take immediate action including suspension from the network, forfeiture of Escrow funds, and legal penalties...

5.4 No Impact on Prior Relationships

Nothing in this Section restricts Users from working with users with whom they had a pre-existing personal or professional relationship prior to joining the Platform...

6. INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL STATUS & RELATIONSHIP DISCLAIMER

6.1 Independent Contractor Relationship

You acknowledge and agree that your use of the Workstation and your engagements with other Users through Bharat Legal Chambers are conducted strictly in the capacity of an Independent Professional / Independent Contractor...

6.2 No Supervision or Control

Bharat Legal Chambers does not and shall not supervise, direct, evaluate, control, or guarantee the manner, method, or quality of professional services performed by Users...

6.3 Exclusion of Liability for Misconduct

The Platform acts solely as a technological Intermediary. Bharat Legal Chambers expressly disclaims all liability for any failure, acts, omissions, misconduct, professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, or breach of professional ethics...

6.4 Limitation of Monetary Liability

In no event shall Bharat Legal Chambers’s total cumulative liability exceed the total amount of Service Fees paid by the User to Bharat Legal Chambers in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the claim.

6.5 Platform Review System

All statements, comments, reviews, posts, discussions, feedback, or other content made by Users on the Platform (“User-Generated Content”) reflect the personal opinions of the Users posting them and do not represent the views of Bharat Legal Chambers...

6.6 Security Measures Disclaimer

The Platform employs commercially reasonable and industry-standard technical and organizational security measures in compliance with the DPDP Act and applicable BIS standards. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Bharat Legal Chambers makes no representation or warranty that the Platform is completely immune from security risks...

6.7 Indemnification

You hereby agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Bharat Legal Chambers, its affiliates, directors, officers, employees and licensors from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, damages, liabilities, penalties, losses, costs and expenses...

7. FINANCIAL TERMS, SUSPENSION, AND AUDIT RIGHTS

7.1 Payment Processing & Subscription Terms

All transactions, Escrow settlements, subscription plans, and Service Fees on the Platform are governed by the Payment, Escrow & Tax Policy. The Platform relies on third-party payment gateways and banking infrastructure...

7.2 No Liability for User-to-User Payments

All professional engagements, settlements, and payments between Users constitute independent contractual dealings between Users, and Bharat Legal Chambers is not a party to any such contract...

7.3 Token / Rewards / Credit System

If the Platform introduces a proprietary token, reward, point, badge, or credit system, such instruments shall constitute a limited, non-transferable, revocable license to access specific platform features...

7.4 Temporary Suspension, Fund Freeze & Account Downgrade

The Platform reserves the unrestricted right to suspend or place limitations on an Account or its features; downgrade subscription status or disable premium features during a compliance check; freeze Escrow, Wallet, or pending withdrawals...

7.5 Right to Audit

You grant Bharat Legal Chambers and its authorized compliance agents the right to audit, monitor, and investigate any Account activity, Content, or Service Contract where there is suspicion or reasonable indication of fraud...

8. DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND GRIEVANCE

8.1 Governing Law

This Agreement shall be exclusively governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India.

8.2 Grievance Redressal (IT Rules, 2021 Compliance)

The Platform has appointed a Grievance Officer in accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Any complaint relating to content, platform usage, user conduct, or violation of these Terms shall be submitted through the Platform’s Grievance Redressal Mechanism...

8.3 Mandatory Binding Arbitration

Any commercial dispute arising out of or related to this TOS, the MSA, or any Service Contract shall be settled by binding arbitration under the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, as amended. The seat and venue of the arbitration shall be Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India...

8.4 Exclusive Jurisdiction

For any matters excluded from arbitration under this TOS, or brought solely for the enforcement, confirmation, or challenge of an arbitration award, the parties hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts at Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India, to the absolute exclusion of all other courts, forums, and jurisdictions.

8.5 Compensation for Legal Proceedings Involving the Platform

In the event that any legal action, arbitration, investigation, summons, notice, or other proceeding seeks to compel the involvement of Bharat Legal Chambers, you agree to: (i) Notify Bharat Legal Chambers in writing at least thirty (30) business days in advance; and (ii) Fully compensate and indemnify Bharat Legal Chambers for all direct and indirect costs incurred in connection with the proceeding...

9. DATA PROCESSING, FORCE MAJEURE, AND MISCELLANEOUS

9.1 Data Storage, Cross-Border Transfer & Retention

You acknowledge and consent that your personal data and professional information may be processed, transferred, and stored on servers located within or outside India, provided that such transfer complies with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023...

9.2 Force Majeure

The Platform shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations arising from circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, cyberattacks or security breaches...

9.3 Service of Notices

All notices, communications, or legal notifications under this TOS shall be deemed properly delivered when sent electronically through the registered email address associated with your Account or in-app notification or dashboard alert...

9.4 Assignment

Bharat Legal Chambers reserves the unrestricted right to assign, transfer, or delegate any or all of its rights or obligations under this TOS to any affiliate, group entity, or lawful successor...

9.5 Entire Agreement

This TOS, together with all policies and documents incorporated by reference, constitutes the complete and exclusive agreement between you and Bharat Legal Chambers regarding the use of the Services and supersedes all prior discussions, negotiations, understandings, representations, or proposals...

10. PLATFORM ROLE, RISK ALLOCATION & PROTECTION FRAMEWORK

10.1 Platform Role

Bharat Legal Chambers is an online technology platform and a statutory “Intermediary” under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Bharat Legal Chambers is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, does not solicit clients, does not provide referrals of legal work...

10.2 No Control Over Professional Work

Bharat Legal Chambers does not initiate, select, modify, interpret, supervise, evaluate, audit, direct, influence, or control any assignment, legal strategy, advice, drafting, consultation, filing, appearance, or professional work between users...

10.3 Payment & Commercial Disputes Between Users

All fee negotiations, invoices, payments, refunds, cancellations, defaults, and commercial disagreements are strictly between the concerned users. Bharat Legal Chambers is not liable for any unpaid amount, delayed payment, incorrect bank details, fraud, non-performance, dissatisfaction with work, or refusal of payment by any user.

10.4 Consequences of Breach

Any user who, directly or indirectly, (i) alleges liability on Bharat Legal Chambers for professional acts or omissions of another user; (ii) seeks to compel Bharat Legal Chambers to intervene in a private dispute; (iii) files a legal complaint, demand, notice, or proceeding against Bharat Legal Chambers in violation of Clauses 10.1 to 10.3; or (iv) attempts to misuse legal process to circumvent this Safe-Harbour protection, shall indemnify and compensate Bharat Legal Chambers for all losses, damages, legal fees, litigation costs, and professional charges incurred...


This completes the full User Agreement & Terms of Service.