Postmen to start serving court summons soon, Maharashtra govt tells Bombay high court

Currently, police personnel do the job; delay in serving summons has affected disposal of cases

The postal department may soon take over the laborious task of serving summons in criminal cases from the police.

At a meeting on February 14, the postal department, in principle, has agreed to serve summons through postmen. (HT File Photo)

At a meeting called on February 14 by the home department’s additional chief secretary, the postal department, in principle, agreed to serve summons through postmen, the Bombay high court was told on Wednesday.

In an affidavit filed in court, Maharashtra’s home department said the modalities would be finalised after it receives a formal proposal from the postal department.

The affidavit was filed in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) complaining that thousands of cheque bounce cases are pending in magistrate courts across the state as there is a delay in the serving of summons, because of shortage of police personnel to perform the task.

Provisions under the Criminal Procedure Code mandate that summons can be served only by either an officer of the court or a public servant, which is why they are usually served through police personnel.

Acting on the PIL, the court had earlier directed the state government to find a permanent solution to the problem as it was delaying the disposal of criminal cases. Following this, the home department had held a meeting last week with the postal department.