Can’t Serve Summons Via WhatsApp: Supreme Court Rejects State’s Plea

Описание: The Supreme Court has rejected the Haryana government’s application to be allowed to serve police summons electronically via WhatsApp, and reiterated its direction to the police to serve physical notices to individuals required for investigation. “We are unable to convince ourselves that electronic communication is a valid mode of service of notice under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, since its conscious omission is a clear manifestation of the legislative intent,” a bench of justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said. The order was passed on July 16, but uploaded to the top court’s website on Wednesday.
The state had approached the top court challenging the January 21 order passed by the top court in Satinder Kumar Antil v CBI, where the court sought to address gaps in safeguarding the rights of accused facing investigation under various crimes. The bench emphasised that any breach of a notice issued by police under Section 41A of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires a person to join an investigation, has serious consequences, as it could lead to arrest and deprive individuals of their personal liberty. Haryana argued that while electronic means were prescribed under BNSS for issuing court notices and summoning witnesses, the same should also be applied to Section 35, as essentially what is required of the individual is to participate in the investigation and not to be arrested. The bench noted, “ Introducing a procedure into Section 35 of the BNSS, 2023, that has not been specifically provided for by the legislature, would be violative of its intent.”


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