Legal Practice & Advisory FAQ

Advocate Subodh Bajpai practises at the Delhi High Court and is Senior Partner at Unified Chambers And Associates, a New Delhi law firm established in 2018. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 2025 (D/3264/25). He holds an LLB (2018) and an LLM (2020) from the University of Delhi and an MBA in Finance from XLRI Jamshedpur (2025). He earlier founded six ventures in India and the UAE, all since exited, and wrote Rise and Thrive (2023).

Unified Chambers And Associates is his only professional engagement; he has practised as an advocate since his enrolment in 2025. The practice areas are debt recovery (SARFAESI, DRT and DRAT, IBC, Section 138 NI Act, commercial litigation, corporate advisory) and white-collar criminal defence (PMLA, CBI, anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS, bail under Section 483 BNSS, bank-fraud matters). The Bar Council of India Rules bar an advocate from personally engaging in business; he has exited all prior ventures.

BJMC (Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication) from Amity University, 2009-2012; MA Political Science from the University of Delhi, 2012-2014; LLB from the University of Delhi, 2015-2018; LLM from the University of Delhi, 2018-2020; and MBA Finance from XLRI Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur, 2023-2025. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 2025.

Subodh Bajpai has formally exited all six prior ventures — Unified Investments LLC (India), Unified Capital and Investments, Media Dynox Private Limited, Cats Club and Bar (UAE), Unified Properties LLC (UAE), and Unified Events and Hospitality (UAE) — and has no role in any of them. Unified Chambers And Associates is his only professional engagement.

Unified Chambers And Associates is based in New Delhi. Advocate Subodh Bajpai's primary court of practice is the Delhi High Court. The other forums are the Debts Recovery Tribunals and the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal at Delhi; the NCLT benches at New Delhi and the NCLAT; the district courts of Delhi (Tis Hazari, Patiala House, Karkardooma, Rohini, Saket, Dwarka and Rouse Avenue); and Special Courts, including the CBI courts at Rouse Avenue and the designated PMLA Special Courts.

Debt recovery and insolvency: SARFAESI matters under Sections 13, 14 and 17; DRT and DRAT proceedings; IBC applications under Sections 7, 9, 10 and 95; Section 138 NI Act cases; commercial litigation, including oppression and mismanagement under Sections 241-244 of the Companies Act 2013; and corporate advisory. White-collar criminal defence: PMLA and Prevention of Corruption Act cases, anticipatory bail and bail under Sections 482 and 483 BNSS, and bank-fraud matters under the RBI's Fraud Risk Management Directions, 2026.

The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act 2002 lets a secured creditor enforce its security without a court. The creditor serves a sixty-day demand notice under Section 13(2), answers any representation within fifteen days (Section 13(3A)), and may then take measures under Section 13(4), with a Magistrate's assistance under Section 14. A person aggrieved by those measures may apply to the DRT under Section 17, and appeal to the DRAT under Section 18.

Yes. IBC work covers applications under Section 7 (financial creditors), Section 9 (operational creditors) and Section 10 (corporate applicants) before the NCLT, New Delhi; objections at the admission stage; Committee of Creditors matters; resolution plans; liquidation; insolvency of personal guarantors of corporate debtors under Sections 95 to 100; and appeals to the NCLAT under Section 61.

DRT proceedings begin with an original application under Section 19 of the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act 1993, which applies to debts of ₹20 lakh or more; the Tribunal adjudicates the debt and issues a recovery certificate for the Recovery Officer to execute. SARFAESI enforcement is non-judicial and only for secured debts: the creditor acts itself, and the borrower may apply to the DRT under Section 17. Section 37 of the SARFAESI Act lets a lender pursue both.

Yes. Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 makes the dishonour of a cheque an offence, subject to conditions including a written demand notice within 30 days of information of dishonour (clause (b) of the proviso to Section 138). Work for complainants covers the notice, the complaint, evidence, and interim compensation under Section 143A. Work for accused persons covers defects in the notice or complaint, rebuttal of the presumption under Section 139, and compounding under Section 147.

Yes. The practice areas include NRI disputes in India — title disputes, partition suits, recovery of possession of property, and succession matters — and FEMA compliance opinions. Instructions from abroad can be given through secure electronic communication or through an authorised representative.

No. The chambers practise Indian law only. Where an Indian matter has a foreign-law element — for example, a contract governed by foreign law, a foreign judgment or assets held abroad — advice on that element must come from counsel qualified in the foreign jurisdiction, and the Indian-law advice is given alongside it.

Under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 438 CrPC), a person who has reason to believe that they may be arrested on an accusation of a non-bailable offence may apply to the High Court or the Court of Session for a direction that, in the event of arrest, they be released on bail. The court may impose conditions, such as being available for interrogation and not leaving India without its permission.

Section 483 of the BNSS (formerly Section 439 CrPC) gives the High Court and the Court of Session special powers to release on bail a person accused of an offence and in custody, to impose conditions, and to set aside or modify conditions imposed by a Magistrate. Separately, under Section 187(3) (formerly Section 167(2) CrPC), an accused is entitled to bail if the investigation is not completed within 90 or 60 days of detention, depending on the offence.

Section 528 of the BNSS (formerly Section 482 CrPC) preserves the inherent powers of the High Court to make orders necessary to give effect to any order under the Sanhita, to prevent abuse of the process of any court, or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. A petition to quash an FIR, a complaint or criminal proceedings is brought before the High Court under this section.

Under Section 45(1) of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002, a person accused of an offence under the Act is not to be released on bail unless the Public Prosecutor has had an opportunity to oppose the application and, if it is opposed, the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. The proviso relaxes this for certain persons.

Section 50(2) of the PMLA empowers the Director and other authorised officers to summon any person whose attendance they consider necessary to give evidence or produce records in an investigation or proceeding under the Act. A person summoned must attend, state the truth and produce the documents required (Section 50(3)), and the proceeding is deemed a judicial proceeding (Section 50(4)). It is a power to summon and record statements, distinct from arrest under Section 19.

Offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 are tried by Special Judges appointed under Section 3 of that Act. In Delhi, the CBI Special Courts sit at the Rouse Avenue Court Complex, to which they moved from Patiala House in April 2019. Money-laundering offences are tried by the Special Courts designated under Section 43 of the PMLA. Appeals and revisions from a Special Judge lie to the Delhi High Court.

No. The Bar Council of India Rules (Part VI, Chapter II, Rule 47) bar an advocate from personally engaging in any business, and investment advice offered as a service generally requires registration with SEBI under the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013. The chambers do not arrange capital, intermediate loans or give investment advice. The work is legal: loan-document review, recovery proceedings, settlement documentation, and litigation under banking and securitisation laws.

Yes. Work for borrowers includes representations under Section 13(3A) against a Section 13(2) demand notice, securitisation applications under Section 17 against measures taken under Section 13(4), disputes over NPA classification, objections to Section 7 applications under the IBC, and one-time settlement documentation with lenders.

Yes. Under the MSMED Act 2006, a buyer must pay a micro or small enterprise supplier within the agreed period, which cannot exceed 45 days (Section 15); delayed payments carry compound interest at three times the bank rate notified by the RBI (Section 16); and the supplier may refer the dispute to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council (Section 18), which conducts conciliation and, failing that, arbitration. Work covers Council references and the enforcement or challenge of awards.

Email connect@subodhbajpai.in or use the contact form on this website, with a brief outline of the matter, the names of the parties and any date by which a step must be taken. A conflict check is carried out before a matter is discussed in detail.

Rise and Thrive: Unleashing the Entrepreneurial Warrior Within is a book on entrepreneurship by Subodh Bajpai, published in August 2023 by White Falcon Publishing (ISBN 9781636409894). He wrote it during his entrepreneur years, before he enrolled as an advocate in 2025. It is listed on Amazon India and Flipkart.

Requests to speak on legal topics — debt recovery and SARFAESI, IBC and insolvency, commercial litigation, criminal procedure under the BNSS, and MSME law — may be sent to connect@subodhbajpai.in, with the date, venue, organiser and audience of the event and the subject proposed.

Coverage from his entrepreneur years (2021–2023) is kept as an archive on the Media page. Much of it was paid or sponsored placement, and none of it assesses his legal practice. His standing as an advocate is a matter of primary record: enrolment with the Bar Council of Delhi (D/3264/25) and membership of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (50612).

Before the Debts Recovery Tribunal having territorial jurisdiction, by an original application under Section 19 of the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act 1993, which applies where the debt is ₹20 lakh or more. Jurisdiction under Section 19(1) turns on factors including where the defendant resides or carries on business and where the cause of action arises. An appeal lies to the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal under Section 20, within 45 days of receipt of the order.

Once the account is classified as a non-performing asset, the secured creditor serves a demand notice under Section 13(2) giving the borrower 60 days to pay, and must answer any representation within 15 days of receiving it (Section 13(3A)). After the 60 days, it may take measures under Section 13(4), including possession, with a Magistrate's assistance under Section 14. A person aggrieved by a Section 13(4) measure may apply to the DRT under Section 17 within 45 days.

The NCLT. Under Section 60(1) of the IBC, the Adjudicating Authority for personal guarantors of corporate debtors is the NCLT bench with territorial jurisdiction over the corporate debtor's registered office. A creditor applies under Section 95; a resolution professional appointed under Section 97 examines the application and reports, and the NCLT decides on admission under Section 100. Since 26 May 2026, Section 96(4) excludes these applications from the interim moratorium, so the Section 101 moratorium begins only on admission.

The Reserve Bank of India's entity-wise Treatment of Wilful Defaulters and Large Defaulters Directions, 2025, issued on 28 November 2025 in place of the earlier directions, read with the lender's board-approved policy. An Identification Committee issues a show-cause notice and considers the reply; the borrower may then make a written representation to a Review Committee, which offers a personal hearing and passes a reasoned order. A declaration made without following the prescribed procedure is open to legal challenge.

An asset reconstruction company acquires financial assets from banks and financial institutions under Section 5 of the SARFAESI Act. On acquisition it is deemed to be the lender, and the lender's rights vest in it. It may enforce the security interest under Section 13, continue pending proceedings in place of the original lender, and file as a financial creditor under the IBC on the assigned debt. Borrowers may contest enforcement, including on the validity of the assignment.

Recovery applications of ₹20 lakh or more and SARFAESI securitisation applications go to the Debts Recovery Tribunals at Delhi, with appeals to the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal at Delhi. Corporate insolvency and personal-guarantor applications go to the NCLT at New Delhi, with appeals to the NCLAT. Section 138 complaints go to magistrates in the district courts; Section 14 SARFAESI requests to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate; writ petitions to the High Court.

By email to connect@subodhbajpai.in or through the contact form on this website. A conflict check is carried out before any instruction is accepted. Panel onboarding, documentation, eligibility criteria and timelines are set by each bank, NBFC or asset reconstruction company under its own policy.

The scope of work (for example, SARFAESI enforcement, DRT applications, IBC filings or Section 138 complaints), the forums covered, reporting arrangements, conflict-management terms, and the documents the institution will provide. Scope is agreed in writing, matter by matter, before work on a matter begins.

A conflict check is run before any instruction is accepted, including a check for exposure of more than one lender to the same borrower group. Rule 33 of the Bar Council of India Rules bars an advocate who has advised or acted for a party in a matter from acting for the opposite party in it. Where a conflict would arise, the instruction is declined.