LI Network
Published on: 16 September 2023 at 17:33 IST
The Supreme Court, in a Special Leave Petition, has affirmed that service, as envisaged in accordance with Order V Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), encompasses the service of summons along with a copy of the plaint.
This observation came in a case concerning the computation of the commencement of the limitation period for filing a written statement in an original side suit in the Delhi High Court’s Commercial Division.
A bench consisting of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M. Trivedi acknowledged the petitioner’s argument, stating, “…We have gone through the pleadings before the High Court. We find from the impugned order that the High Court disbelieved incomplete service of the plaint. It is essentially a question of fact, which we do not want to reappreciate at this stage.”
The Court considered the facts and circumstances and noted, “If we treat the second service by speed post as the starting point, then also the written statement was filed beyond time. On behalf of the petitioner, it has been argued that the provision of Order V Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure requires the service of summons with the plaint.”
Consequently, the bench dismissed the petition.
Case Title: National Insurance Company Ltd. v. M/S National Building Construction India Ltd. & Ors.
