Service on corporation
Full Text
Subject to any statutory provision regulating service of process, where the suit is against a corporation, the summons may be served—
(a) on the secretary, or on any director, or other principal officer of the corporation, or
(b) by leaving it or sending it by post addressed to the corporation at the registered office, or if there is no registered office then at the place where the corporation carries on business.
Plain English Summary
Specifies valid modes of serving summons on a corporate defendant, requiring direct service on the secretary, director, or principal officer, or transmission by post to the company's registered office or principal place of business.
Key Legal Elements
- Dual Valid Modes: (a) Personal service on Secretary/Director/Principal Officer, or (b) Delivery/post to Registered Office.
- Hierarchy of Address: Registered Office is primary; place of business is secondary (only if no registered office exists).
- Subordinate Staff Exclusion: Service on a junior clerk, security guard, or receptionist is invalid service under this rule.
Practical Note
Setting Aside Ex-Parte Decrees Against Companies: 1. Strict Construction of Corporate Service: In Shalimar Rope Works Ltd. v. Abdul Hussain H.M. Hasan Bhai & Co. (1980) 3 SCC 595, the Supreme Court ruled that service of summons on a clerk or sales agent at a branch office is not valid service on a corporation under Order XXIX Rule 2. An ex-parte decree obtained on such service must be set aside under Order IX Rule 13. 2. Serving Corporate Defendants: Always obtain the official Master Data of the company from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA21) portal and dispatch summons to the official Registered Office by Registered Post AD or Speed Post.
हिंदी पाठ
आदेशिकाओं की तामील को विनियमित करने वाले किसी कानूनी उपबंध के अधीन रहते हुए, जहां वाद किसी निगम के विरुद्ध है, वहां समन की तामील—
(क) निगम के सचिव पर, अथवा किसी निदेशक या अन्य प्रधान अधिकारी पर की जा सकेगी, अथवा
(ख) उसे रजिस्ट्रीकृत कार्यालय (Registered Office) पर, अथवा यदि कोई रजिस्ट्रीकृत कार्यालय नहीं है तो उस स्थान पर जहां निगम कारबार चलाता है, निगम के पते पर छोड़कर अथवा डाक द्वारा भेजकर की जा सकेगी।