If you are looking for Process Server Service India, please continue reading. The answers provided below intend to educate people who are new to litigation and to remove their doubts as to who Personal Process Servers are and what are the services provided by them. The information is provided about process service to be conducted within the same country and to other countries. Efforts have been made to avoid technical terms and keep the language simple. It is assumed that the readers are not related to legal field and thus basics are also mentioned here.

What is ‘Process Service’ or ‘Service of Process’?

When you initiate a legal action before a court, you are required to serve the copy of your writ or complaint to the opposite party or parties, as the case may be. It is the right of all the parties to litigation to receive information about the matter. There are various means of doing so but the quickest one is personal process service. The process of serving the documents directly to the person as against by sending the same through post, email etc. is called Personal Process Service or Service of Process.

When someone who is of age 18 or more and is not a party to the case approaches the party and delivers the documents to him or her, the service of process is complete. The summons and subpoena can also be served in the same manner. Further, if the party on whom the documents need to be served is a company or firm, the documents will be delivered to the person authorized to receive the documents on behalf of the company.

Who can do Process Server Service in India?

One way to do the process service is to get the documents served by your friend or relative who is of the age 18 or more and is not involved in the case. You being a party to the case are restricted by law to approach the opposite party for serving the documents. Thus, do not try to serve the documents yourself.

The other way is to hire professional process servers who are trained to do service of process. You should ideally hire a process server who lives in the area of the defendant or respondent. This is important as the process server might have to revisit the premises of the party again if the documents could not be delivered during the first visit. It can be due to unavailability of the party at the time of visit or for some other reason.

Where the documents can be served?

In case the party on whom the documents need to be served is an individual, the law allows the service of documents at his or her residence, workplace or anywhere else. However, the documents should be served in a lawful manner and caution should be exercised not to offend the party or his/her family members, friends, colleagues etc. Sometimes, in the matters of family disputes, the family members of the party become aggressive and in such circumstances the process server has to use his experience to deal with the situation. He should try to calm them and serve the documents only when the situation is under control.

If the documents need to be served on a business or corporation, the documents should be served at its registered address. In case the business address is different than the registered address and it is not possible to serve the documents at the registered address, the service can be done at the business address.

What if party refuse to accept the documents?

The process server will try to hand the documents to the party. However, if the party refuses to accept the documents, the process server can leave the documents on the ground in front of the party and the process service will be deemed to be complete. However, rules related to process service varies from country to country and from state to state. In case the party on whom the documents need to be served lives in a different jurisdiction, you should ask your attorney to explain the laws related to process service to the process server.

Can the documents be handed over to person other than the party?

In some jurisdictions, if the process server is not able to serve the documents on the party despite several attempts, he can hand over the documents to a person who lives in the same house and is of age 18 years or more. The person can be a member of the family or housemate. Before handing the documents, the process server should obtain the details of the person such as name, contact number and relation with the party. The process of serving the documents on person other than the party is called Substituted Service.

Is written acknowledgement required?

No, the process server is not required to obtain written acknowledgement from the party. The delivery of documents in a lawful manner is sufficient. The handing over of documents to the right person is sufficient for Process Server Service India.

What evidence is required that the process service has been done?

After the process service is done, the process server will give you a Certificate of Service, also called as Proof of Service Affidavit, which contains details of the time and place at which the documents were served on the party. In case the documents are handed over to a person other than the party, the details of such person will be mentioned. In case the documents are served on a corporation, the details of the person who accepted the documents on behalf of the corporation will be mentioned.

What if the defendant or respondent lives in other country?

The service of documents in another country is governed by international laws and treaties. The main law that governs international process service is The Hague Convention (Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters). As the name suggests, the provisions of the convention apply to civil and commercial matters and not to criminal matters. All the major countries such as USA, UK, Canada, Russia, Australia, China, India etc. are signatory to the convention and thus the service of documents in said countries is be governed by the provisions of the convention.

What is the process of service under the Hague Convention?

Although the convention is quite liberal and provides various modes of serving the documents, it also gives the option to member states to prohibit a particular mode of service(s). The provision of Article 10 which provides the option to serve the documents has been the most controversial topic as several countries have opposed the said provision. Article 8 provides that the member states can serve judicial documents on persons abroad, without application of any compulsion, directly through its diplomatic or consular agents. Again, a state may declare that it is opposed to such service within its territory, unless the document is to be served upon a national of the State in which the documents originate. The method of serving documents through the Central Agency of a member state is always available (Article 5).

How to serve documents through the Central Agency?

The service of documents through the Central Agency involves government machinery and is a quite slow process. Your attorney should fill the formal request form and send it to the Central Agency of the destination country along with the copy of documents which you want to serve on the opposite party. The details and address of the Central Agency of a particular country can be easily obtained online. Further, you may have to translate the documents in the language prescribed by the destination country.

After the receipt of documents, the Central Agency will check that the request form and documents are in prescribed form and language. If there is any deficiency, they will inform you about it so that you can rectify it. If everything is in order, the documents will be served on the opposite party through a proper channel. After the service or attempted service, as the case may be, the Central Authority will send you a certificate which will state that the document has been served and shall include the method, the place and the date of service along with details of the person to whom the document was delivered. In case the document has not been served, the certificate will set out the reasons which have prevented service.

The time taken in serving the documents and preparing and sending the certificate by the Central Agency varies from country to country. It usually takes around six months for the process to complete.

If you need any other information or clarification regarding Process Server Service India, drop and email at [email protected] and we will try to revert as soon as possible.