Dr. Madhav Vishwanath Dawalbhakta & ors. v. M/s. Bendale Brothers
In the above name case, the Bombay High Court accepted the delivery of summon sent through WhatsApp message. It accepted this substituted service of summon.
Justice GS Patel remarked that not only the WhatsApp message but also the attached document in PDF format was opened by the recipient, hence the same was deemed to be duly received.
Karkardooma Court at Delhi recently in a case taken up by it has allowed the Petitioner to serve summons on the Respondent no. 1 through WhatsApp, Text messages and through e-mail.
A Delhi Court stated that Double tick on the printout of WhatsApp messages prima facie shows that the copy of summons has been delivered on the respondent.
The adoption of technological modes of communication by the Courts in our country is a welcome move. It saves time, thus aiding in speedy disposal of cases and mitigating the issue of huge backlog of cases in India.
What is Substituted Service?
Order 5 Rule 20 of Code of Civil Procedure provides for substituted services and states that Substituted services takes place:
- By affixing the copy in some conspicuous place in Courthouse upon some conspicuous part of the house (if any) in which the defendant is known to have last resided or carried on business or personally worked for gain;
- Or in such other manner as the Court thinks fit.
