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POSTAL SERVICE IS NOW HAGUE CONVENTION COMPLIANT: CHARUVILA PHILIPPOSE SUNDARAN PILLAI v P N SIVADASAN1
A Full Bench of the Kerala High Court has said that Indian litigants can serve judicial proceedings on foreign defendants by post, thereby easing the process of cross border litigation.
The Court said that:
- India is a signatory to the Hague Convention (full name: the Convention on The Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters).
- If a defendant resides in a country which has not objected to Article 10 of the Convention (which allows service by post), proceedings can be served on them through post and without resorting to the central authorities, which is often complex and time-consuming. The Court overruled Mollykutty v Nicey Jacob2, which disallowed postal service.
- Where postal service is not possible, and resort must be had to the central authorities, the Court directed the Central Government to create an online portal for the service of proceedings abroad so that litigants initiating such foreign legal processes can register grievances, submit documents, and monitor status of service.
Service on parties in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and France can now be carried out by post. Countries which have objected to Article 10 of the Convention include Germany, China, Japan, Russia, and Singapore, who will still need to be served through the central authorities.
Footnotes
1. 2024 SCC OnLine Ker 6724.
2. 2018 SCC OnLine Ker 20657.
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