Notice sent via WhatsApp valid, rules Bombay high court
MUMBAI, June 16: The Bombay high court has held that service of notice about a litigation through WhatsApp is valid. Justice Gautam Patel observed that a credit card defaulter who was evading the bank had not only received the notice in a PDF file but also opened it and read its contents.
The HC was hearing an application filed by SBI Cards and Payment Services to execute an arbitration award against a Nalasopara resident, Rohidas Jadhav, relating to payment of credit card dues of Rs 1.17 lakh.
"(Jadhav) was served by an authorised officer by sending a PDF and message to his mobile number as a WhatsApp message." Justice Patel said. "For the purposes of service of notice I will accept this. I do so because the icon indicators clearly show that not only was the message and attachment delivered but that both were opened."
Advocate Murlidhar Kale, counsel for the company, said they had been unable to serve the notice on Jadhav as he had changed his residence. His phone number was available with them, which the HC took on record. The bank representative sent Jadhav a message informing him about the next date of hearing along with a lawyer's notice in a PDF. The blue ticks on the message revealed that Jadhav had received the message and read it.
Jadhav had run up credit card dues of Rs 85,000 in 2010. In 2011, following arbitration proceedings, he was ordered to pay back the amount along with 8 per cent interest. When he failed to make the payment, the bank filed an execution application in 2015 to enforce the award. The amount at the time stood at Rs 1.17 lakh. Over the past two years, the bank had been trying to serve the notice about the litigation on Jadhav but without success as he kept shifting his rental accommodation.
Rules state that a notice is served in person or through registered post. Following the enactment of the Information Technology Act, which recognises electronic communication as evidence, courts have allowed parties in a litigation to serve notice through email, in addition to traditional methods. Earlier this year, a Delhi metropolitan magistrate had allowed a woman to serve summons in a domestic violence case on her estranged husband in Australia via WhatsApp. The court had said that the "double tick" on WhatsApp showed that the summons have been delivered.
Courtesy: The Times Of India
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Petrol pump worker killed as SUV hits motorcycle head-on in Gurugram
Gurugram (PTI): A petrol pump worker died after an SUV rammed into his motorcycle in the Sushant Lok area here, police said on Thursday.
The accused driver fled the scene, leaving the vehicle after the accident. An FIR has been registered at the Sushant Lok police station, they said.
According to police, the accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when Mukesh was travelling from Sector 44 to Sushant Lok on Vyapar Kendra Road for some work.
Near Vyapar Kendra, a white Thar coming from the wrong side at high speed hit his motorcycle head-on, leaving him critically injured, they said.
The driver fled the scene, leaving the vehicle behind, police added.
Eyewitnesses claimed the vehicle had no number plates either at the front or rear.
Locals took Mukesh to a private hospital, where he died during treatment, police said. He was a resident of Rohta Patti in Palwal and worked at a petrol pump in Sector 44.
An FIR was registered against the unidentified driver, based on a complaint lodged by his brother Ashok. The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem on Thursday, police said.
“The Thar vehicle has been seized from the spot. CCTV footage from the area is being examined, and the driver will be arrested soon,” a Gurugram police spokesperson said.
