Substituted service
Full Text
(1) Where the Court is satisfied that there is reason to believe that the defendant is keeping out of the way for the purpose of avoiding service, or that for any other reason the summons cannot be served in the ordinary way, the Court shall order the summons to be served by affixing a copy thereof in some conspicuous place in the Court-house, and also 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.
(1A) Where the Court acting under sub-rule (1) orders service by an advertisement in a newspaper, the newspaper shall be a daily newspaper circulating in the locality in which the defendant is last known to have actually and voluntarily resided, carried on business or personally worked for gain.
(2) Effect of substituted service.—Service substituted by order of the Court shall be as effectual as if it had been made on the defendant personally.
(3) Where service substituted, time for appearance to be fixed.—Where service is substituted by order of the Court, the Court shall fix such time for the appearance of the defendant as the case may require.
Plain English Summary
Governs substituted service by affixture at courthouse/last residence or publication in a widely circulated local daily newspaper when the defendant evades process, establishing that valid substituted service is legally equivalent to personal service.
Key Legal Elements
- Judicial Satisfaction Mandatory: Court must record subjective satisfaction that defendant is intentionally keeping out of the way or ordinary service is impossible.
- Dual Affixture Mandate: Affixing at Court-house AND upon defendant's last known residence.
- Newspaper Publication Conditions (Sub-rule 1A): Must be a daily newspaper circulating in the exact locality of defendant's last known actual residence.
- Deemed Personal Service (Sub-rule 2): Once lawfully executed, creates full legal fiction of personal service.
- Reasonable Appearance Window (Sub-rule 3): Court must provide adequate time for appearance after publication.
Practical Note
The Definitive Guide to Substituted Service & Paper Publication: 1. Standard Plaintiff Application Header: 'Application on behalf of Plaintiff under Order V Rule 20(1) & (1A) read with Section 151 CPC for Substituted Service on Defendant No. 1 through publication in Daily Newspaper [Name of Newspaper]'. 2. Mandatory Pre-requisite - Inability of Ordinary Service: Substituted service cannot be granted casually as a matter of routine. In Neerja Realtors Pvt. Ltd. v. Janglu (2018) 2 SCC 649, the Supreme Court held that the court must apply its mind to process server reports to satisfy itself that the defendant is intentionally evading service before ordering paper publication. 3. Newspaper Circulating in Locality: In Yallawwa v. Shantavva (1997) 11 SCC 548, publication in a local vernacular newspaper not circulating in the defendant's current residence/district was held to be fraudulent, and the ex parte divorce decree was set aside. 4. Attacking Ex Parte Decrees based on Paper Publication: In an Order IX Rule 13 petition, prove: (i) the newspaper has no circulation in the area where defendant actually lives; (ii) the publication was in an obscure paper; (iii) the plaintiff knew the defendant's actual current address and deliberately withheld it from the court.
हिंदी पाठ
(1) जहां न्यायालय का यह समाधान हो जाता है कि यह विश्वास करने का कारण है कि प्रतिवादी तामील से बचने के प्रयोजन से बचता फिरता है, अथवा किसी अन्य कारण से समन की तामील मामूली रीति से नहीं की जा सकती है, वहां न्यायालय समन की एक प्रति न्यायालय-भवन के किसी सहजदृश्य स्थान में और उस मकान के भी (यदि कोई हो) किसी सहजदृश्य भाग में जिसमें प्रतिवादी के बारे में यह ज्ञात है कि वह अंतिम बार निवास करता था या कारबार चलाता था, चस्पा करके अथवा ऐसी अन्य रीति से जैसी न्यायालय ठीक समझे, समन की तामील किए जाने का आदेश देगा।
(1क) जहां न्यायालय उपनियम (1) के अधीन कार्य करते हुए किसी समाचार-पत्र में विज्ञापन द्वारा तामील का आदेश देता है, वहां वह समाचार-पत्र ऐसा दैनिक समाचार-पत्र होगा जो उस परिक्षेत्र में परिचालित होता है जिसमें प्रतिवादी के बारे में अंतिम बार यह ज्ञात है कि वह वास्तव में और स्वेच्छा से निवास करता था या कारबार चलाता था।
(2) प्रतिस्थापित तामील का प्रभाव।—न्यायालय के आदेश द्वारा प्रतिस्थापित तामील उतनी ही प्रभावी होगी मानो वह प्रतिवादी पर स्वयं व्यक्तिगत रूप से की गई हो।
(3) समय नियत किया जाना।—न्यायालय प्रतिवादी की उपसंजाति के लिए ऐसा समय नियत करेगा जैसा मामले की आवश्यकता हो।