The law must change with changing times. And so, while the need to serve notices to people involved in litigation remains unchanged, the means with which it can be done has been wildly expanded.

Gone are the days when notices had to be served in person or by registered post. The Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court gave permission for a couple to be notified on Facebook that they had lost their home for defaulting on a loan repayment. It’s another matter that by the time, Mark McCormack, the lawyer who obtained the permission tried to do so, the couple’s Facebook Profiles had disappeared.

While this kind of issue hasn’t been raised in Indian courts yet, there are areas in the law where the ‘modernisation’ process has begun e.g. with regard to service of summons an amendment to the CPC in 2002 which was aimed at making litigation more speedy and effective, enabled use of information technology (fax, e-mail) and pre-approved private courier services for the purpose of issuing summons. Considering that most delays in procedure occur at the pre-trial stage, the need to modify the procedure on issuing summons was pressing.

It is clear that keeping step with the times is necessary for efficiency in the judicial process. Would Indian courts be willing to ‘scrap’ a summons anytime soon?