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1988 Supreme(Cal) 450

High Court Of Calcutta
Mitra, J.
Rabindra Nath Seth
Vs.
Suresh Chandra Das
C.R. No. 9445 of 1986
Decided On : Dec 15, 1988

Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
Asit Goswami, Hiranya Choudhury

The court has the discretion to direct service of process at any address other than the registered address of the party, if for any reason, it thinks fit, to do so.

Headnote:

ORDER 9 RULE 13 - SERVICE OF SUMMONS - ORDER 6 RULE 14A - SUMMONS SENT TO DEFENDANT'S NEW ADDRESS - COURT'S DISCRETION - SUMMARY

Fact of the Case:

Plaintiff sent summons to the defendant at a new address after the court allowed the plaintiff to serve summons at the new address. The defendant claimed that he was not aware of the suit and that summons was not served and was fraudulently suppressed. The trial court allowed the defendant's application to set aside the ex parte decree, holding that the order allowing service of summons at the new address was irregular.

Finding of the Court:

The High Court held that the trial court erred in setting aside the ex parte decree. The court found that the plaintiff had substantially complied with the provisions of Order 6 Rule 14a(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure in obtaining permission to serve summons at the defendant's new address. The court also found that the defendant had knowledge of the suit.

Issues: 1. Whether the trial court erred in setting aside the ex parte decree. 2. Whether the plaintiff had substantially complied with the provisions of Order 6 Rule 14a(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure in obtaining permission to serve summons at the defendant's new address. 3. Whether the defendant had knowledge of the suit.

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The provisions of Order 6 Rule 14a(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure are not mandatory. 2. A party is not required to follow the provisions of Order 6 Rule 14a(2) to the letter in order to record a change of address. 3. The court should be slow to reject an application for a change of address if the party has substantially complied with the provisions of Order 6 Rule 14a(2). 4. The court should not be hyper technical in such matters, as such defects are merely procedural defects curable at the instance of the party or by the court itself.

Final Decision: The High Court set aside the trial court's order setting aside the ex parte decree and rejected the defendant's application to set aside the ex parte decree.

JUDGMENT

1. IT appears from the impugned order that the learned munsif allowed the application under Order 9 Rule 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure on the ground that although the plaintiff-petitioner had sent service of summons to the defendant at 87, Kazi Nazrul Islam road, since the petitioner did not amend the cause title of the plaint that order allowing the petitioner to serve summons upon the defendant at 87, Kazi Nazrul Islam Road, was an irregular order. It, however, appear from the order-sheet that the summons that was sent to the defendant at the place as given by the plaintiff in the plaint was returned unserved with the peon's endorsement dead. The plaintiff-petitioner made an application on 11th March, 1983 wherein he stated, inter alia, that the defendant was delving the suit by avoiding service and he was residing at 87 kazi Nazrul Islam Road leaving the suit premises and prayed for service of summons upon the defendant at 87, Kazi Nazrul islam Road and the court by its Order No. 6 dated Nth March, 1983, allowed the said prayer summons was sent to the said address of the defendant at 87, Kazi Nazrul islam Road and it was returned unserved with the peon's endoresement 'refused' which was accepted by the court below as good service. An ex-parte decree was passed on 26th May, 1983. Lon thereafter, on 21st december, 1983 an application was made under Order 9 rule 13 of the code wherein it was merely stated by the defendant opposite party, that he was not aware of the title suit and summons was not served and was fraudelently suppressed. He came to know of the said suit only in December, 1983 and, thereafter, on search, came to know of the said ex-parte decree.

2. THE learned munsif by his impugned order allowed the said application under Order 9 Rule 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure inter alia upon a finding that the plaintiff, without amending the address of the defendant as ordered by the court that the plaintiff was to take steps, prayed for service of summons at the changed and/or new address of the defendant which prayer was allowed by the court and as such the said order was an irregular one. Being aggrieved by the said order of the learned munsif, the plaintiff-petitioner has obtained the present Civil rule in this Hon'ble Court. Miss Chowdhury learned Advocate for the petitioner submits since the service of summons at the new and/or other and/or changed address of the defendant was proved by the postal peon, who was examined as a witness in the proceeding, and since the court below had allowed the plaintiff-petitioner's prayer for service of summons upon the defendant at the other and/or changed and/or new address, the learned munsif was wrong in allowing the application under Order 9 Rule 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure upon a finding that an irregular order was passed by his precedessor-in-office while allowing the said prayer of the plaintiff-petitioner and as such, the impugned order suffers from material irregularity and should be set aside.

3. MR. Goswami, the learned Advocate for the opposite party, howler, submits that the summons at the view and/or changed address of the defendant was sent by the plaintiff without following the statutory provisions of law, namely, the provisions of Order 6 Rule 14a (2) of the code of Civil Procedure and as such the learned munsif was right in setting aside the ex-parte decree and allowing the application under Order 9 rule 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

4. SUB-RULE (1) of Rule 14a of Order 6 of the Code of Civil Procedure states that every pleading when filed" by a party, shall be accompanied by the statements in the prescribed form signed as provided in Rule 14, regarding the address of the party, while sub-rule (2) of the said Rule 14a provides that such address may, from time to time, be changed by lodging in court a form duly filled up and stating the new address of the party and accompanied by a verified petition.

Under the provisions of sub-rule (8) of t





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