Terms of Service
Welcome to VidhiMeet. By accessing our platform, registering as a client or legal professional, booking consultation slots, or participating in custom legal document drafting, you agree to comply with the terms and conditions detailed below. Please read them carefully.
1. Platform Role & Intermediary Shield (IT Act §79 & DPDP Act 2023)
VidhiMeet operates as an Electronic Marketplace Intermediary under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and applicable Intermediary Guidelines. VidhiMeet is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, does not practice law, and does not participate in advocate-client privileges formed via the platform. We provide encrypted video consultation infrastructure, real-time consultation chat, document drafting collaboration tools, and escrow payment processing. Independent legal professionals set their own fees and remain solely responsible for the legal advice and document drafts provided.
2. Verification & Professional Credentials
To ensure high platform integrity, legal professionals undergo multi-layered identity and credential verification during registration:
- Bar Council Enrollment: State Bar Council license numbers and physical certificates are verified prior to badge allocation.
- Identity Verification: Government identifiers (Aadhaar / Passport) are stored using AES-256 field-level encryption.
- Bank Account & UPI Verification: Advocate bank accounts and UPI IDs undergo automated account holder verification to confirm match between advocate name and bank account holder before payout releases.
3. Video Consultations, Escrow & Payment Processing
- Escrow Holding: Client consultation payments are held securely in platform escrow until the consultation is concluded.
- Fee Deductions: VidhiMeet deducts a transparent technology & infrastructure fee (e.g. 5% platform fee for video consultations, 10% for document drafting) from gross transactions.
- Cancellation & Refunds: Cancellations made >24 hours prior to slot start time receive a 100% refund. Cancellations made between 2h–24h receive a 75% partial refund (25% cancellation penalty). Cancellations under 2 hours or no-shows are non-refundable. If an advocate or platform cancels a session, the client receives a 100% full refund plus a 20% rebooking voucher. All refunds are credited back to the original payment method within 3 to 5 business days per RBI guidelines.
4. Document Drafting Hub & 7-Day Auto-Approval Rule
VidhiMeet provides a structured legal document drafting marketplace enabling clients to post custom drafting requirements and receive counter-proposals from advocates:
- Milestone Escrow: Client funds are locked in escrow upon accepting a drafter proposal.
- Revision & Inline Comments: Clients may request revisions or leave inline PDF page-anchored comments within the drafting workspace.
- 7-Day Auto-Approval Rule: Once an advocate submits the finalized legal draft (`.pdf` or `.docx`), the client has 7 calendar days to review and request revisions. If no revision or dispute is logged within 7 days, the platform automatically approves the draft, freezes the document version, and releases escrow funds to the advocate.
5. NTP Time Synchronization & Forensic Timestamping
In compliance with CERT-In cybersecurity directives and DPDP audit trail standards, all platform transaction timestamps, slot allocations, consent grants, and dispute logs are anchored to NTP-synchronized UTC/IST clocks (`ntp_time.py`). Timestamp records are immutable and forensically authoritative in dispute resolution.
6. Dispute Resolution Matrix & Telemetry Evidence Waiver
If a consultation fails due to technical disruption or non-attendance, either party may file a dispute within 24 hours:
- Escrow Freeze: Payouts are automatically locked upon dispute filing.
- Telemetry Evidence Waiver: Both parties agree that automated room connection telemetry (participant attendance durations from Daily.co logs) serves as definitive evidence. If connection logs show 0 minutes advocate attendance, a 100% refund is issued automatically to the client.
7. Professional Liability & Limitation of Damages
All professional legal advice, document drafting accuracy, and statutory compliance remain strictly between the advocate and the client. VidhiMeet is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from professional advice or service delivery.
8. Contact & Legal Governance
For questions or formal legal notices, contact our compliance desk at legal@vidhimeet.in.