Dismissal of suit where summons not served in consequence of plaintiff's failure to pay costs
Full Text
Where on the day so fixed it is found that summons has not been served upon the defendant in consequence of the failure of the plaintiff to pay the court-fee or postal charges, if any, chargeable for such service, or failure to present copies of the plaint as required by rule 9 of Order VII, the Court may make an order that the suit be dismissed:
Provided that no such order shall be made, if notwithstanding such failure, the defendant attends in person or by agent when he is allowed to appear by agent on the day fixed for him to appear and answer.
Plain English Summary
Empowers the court to dismiss the suit if summons could not be served due to the plaintiff's default in depositing process fees, postal charges, or plaint copies, unless the defendant voluntarily appears despite non-service.
Key Legal Elements
- Grounds of Dismissal: Failure to pay court-fee/process fee, failure to pay postal charges, or failure to supply plaint copies under Order VII Rule 9.
- Non-Service Direct Consequence: Non-service must be directly attributable to plaintiff's pecuniary or procedural default.
- Voluntary Appearance Proviso: Dismissal is barred if defendant appears voluntarily despite the lack of formal service.
- Remedy under Rule 4: Plaintiff can either file a fresh suit (within limitation) or apply for restoration under Order IX Rule 4.
Practical Note
Courtroom Practice for Process Fees (PF) & Copies: 1. Timely Deposit of PF: In Indian civil courts, filing process fee (Talbana) and registered cover along with requisite copies of plaint within 7 days of summons order is vital to prevent Rule 2 dismissal. 2. Inadvertent Dismissal Remedy: If dismissed under Rule 2, move immediately under Order IX Rule 4: 'Application on behalf of Plaintiff under Order IX Rule 4 read with Section 151 CPC for Restoration of Suit Dismissed for Non-Payment of Process Fees'. No notice to defendant is required if defendant had never appeared.
हिंदी पाठ
जहां इस प्रकार नियत दिन यह पाया जाता है कि ऐसी तामील के लिए प्रभार्य न्यायशुल्क (Court-fee) या डाक प्रभार (Postal charges), यदि कोई हों, देने में वादी के असफल रहने के परिणामस्वरूप अथवा आदेश 7 के नियम 9 द्वारा अपेक्षित वादपत्र की प्रतियां प्रस्तुत करने में असफल रहने के परिणामस्वरूप प्रतिवादी पर समन की तामील नहीं हुई है, वहां न्यायालय यह आदेश कर सकेगा कि वाद खारिज (Dismissed) कर दिया जाए:
परन्तु ऐसा कोई आदेश नहीं किया जाएगा यदि ऐसी असफलता के होते हुए भी, प्रतिवादी उस दिन, जो उसके उपसंजात होने और उत्तर देने के लिए नियत किया गया है, स्वयं अथवा अभिकर्ता द्वारा उपस्थित हो जाता है जब उसे अभिकर्ता द्वारा उपसंजात होने की अनुज्ञा है।