Generalizing a bit, the legal system isn't quite as efficient in India as in the US or Western Europe. Disputes can take years or even decades[1] to settle. Thi

Generalizing a bit, the legal system isn't quite as efficient in India as in the US or Western Europe. Disputes can take years or even decades[1] to settle. This Bloomberg article[2] calls it "horribly dysfunctional" and having worked there I agree. You do not want to go to court. There's many reasons for this, there's about 14 judges per million people and the justice system is run like it's 1940 - no computers mostly, massive piles of paper, etc. The World Bank ranks India 178 out of 188 in contract enforcement[3] -- essentially if you have a dispute, especially a small one, you may be better off cutting your losses. If you're up against someone with patronage/influence your chances are even dimmer (which is why you need to have your own patrons/influencers if you are serious about doing business in India, which just perpetuates a bribes-and-corruption culture). It also causes people to take matters into their own hands, because if you suspect your employer won't pay your salary, you can't file a suit. It actually makes more sense to lock him up (as long as he isn't harmed the likelihood of a criminal case is remote) until he releases the cash. For companies for whom this is feasible, one common workaround is to add boilerplate to their contracts to be subject to Singapore courts for dispute resolution (much faster!). [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=court+case+taking+decades+india https://www.google.com/search?q=court+case+taking+decades+in... [2] http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-11-25/speeding-up-indias-courts http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-11-25/speeding-up... [3] http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/india/enforcing-contracts http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/india/enf...