Summons to be served via WhatsApp, email; affidavit to be furnished: Punjab & Haryana HC

Read Order: Seema Bhatnagar v. Anoop Sharma And Anr

LE Staff

Chandigarh, August 27, 2021: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed a plea which sought to effect the service of summons by email and Whatsapp. 

The bench of Justice Jaishree Thakur, however, made it clear that the counsel for the applicant-petitioner would have to furnish an affidavit to the effect that the email and WhatsApp numbers are correct and that email sent has not bounced back as well as to take a screen-shot of the service of the summons through WhatsApp upon both the respondents.

The limited prayer of the applicant-petitioner was to seek direction to effect service upon the respondents by email and WhatsApp in terms of the directions issued by the Apex Court in Suo moto v. Cognizance for extension of Limitation [Suo Moto Writ Petition (C) No.3/2020].

The court has permitted the applicant-petitioner to serve both the respondents as per the details mentioned in the application.

The Bench has also directed that fresh summons be issued to both the respondents for the date already fixed in the main petition i.e. October 4, 2021, through the mode as ordered.

The backdrop of the case is that the petitioner had registered a complaint against the respondent under various sections of the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

Later, the applicant filed a petition against an order of the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Gurugram, stating that the Magistrate had wrongly drawn a conclusion that since the marriage was solemnized by the parties for the purpose of companionship and the petitioner was having means for her maintenance, therefore, respondent had not been restrained from disposing of his properties.