precaution taken by court while granting application for substituted service

The learned Single Judge has found that respondent being an illiterate lady living in a different town could not have known through the newspaper that her husband had filed a divorce petition against her and, therefore, she had no knowledge about the divorce petition. Consequently, the ex parte decree could be treated as one passed against the party which was not served and which had no knowledge about the said proceedings. The learned Counsel for the respondent was also justified in submitting that the Trial Court could not have almost automatically granted the application for substituted service without taking steps for serving the respondent by ordinary procedure as laid down by Order V Rules 12, 15 and 17 C.P.C. It must be kept in view that substituted service has to be resorted as the last resort when the defendant cannot be served in the ordinary way and 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. In the present case, it appears that almost automatically the procedure of substituted service was resorted to.

 Citation : AIR 1997 SC 35

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Civil Appeal No. 9852 of 1996.

Decided On: 08.10.1996

Smt. Yallawwa 
Vs.
Smt. Shantavva

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
N.P. Singh and S.B. Majmudar, JJ.

#notice

#substituteservice