Section 66 BNSS 2023: Service When Persons Summoned Cannot Be Found

Section 66 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 provides an alternative method of serving a summons when the person summoned cannot be found despite the exercise of due diligence. In that situation, one duplicate may be left with an adult member of the person's family who resides with that person.

Text of Section 66, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

66. Service when persons summoned cannot be found.

Where the person summoned cannot, by the exercise of due diligence, be found, the summons may be served by leaving one of the duplicates for him with some adult member of his family residing with him, and the person on whom the summons is so left shall, if so required by the serving officer, sign a receipt therefor on the back of the other duplicate.

Explanation.-A servant is not a member of the family within the meaning of this section.

Meaning of Section 66 BNSS

Section 66 applies when ordinary personal service cannot be completed because the person summoned cannot be found even after due diligence. It permits service through an adult member of the person's family who is residing with that person. This is a statutory alternative to direct personal service and is subject to the conditions written into the section.

The provision should be read together with Section 64 BNSS, which sets out the general rules for service of summons, and Section 67 BNSS, which applies where service cannot be effected under Sections 64, 65 or 66 despite due diligence.

What does due diligence mean in Section 66?

Section 66 does not create an automatic right to leave the summons with a family member. The trigger is that the person summoned cannot be found by the exercise of due diligence. In practical terms, the serving process should show that reasonable efforts appropriate to the circumstances were made to find the person before this alternative method was used.

Whether due diligence was exercised may depend on the facts and the service record before the Court. The wording of Section 66 therefore makes reasonable prior effort an important condition of this form of service.

Who can receive the summons?

The duplicate summons may be left with an adult member of the family of the person summoned, provided that the family member is residing with that person. Both requirements matter: the recipient must be an adult family member and must reside with the person summoned.

Can a servant receive summons under Section 66?

No. The Explanation expressly provides that a servant is not a member of the family for the purpose of Section 66. Leaving the summons with a servant therefore does not satisfy the family-member method described in this provision.

Receipt on the duplicate summons

If the serving officer requires it, the person with whom the summons is left must sign a receipt on the back of the other duplicate. This creates a record of the alternative service and identifies the person who received the summons.

Requirements under Section 66 at a glance

Requirement	Rule under Section 66
Person cannot be found	The person summoned must not be found despite the exercise of due diligence.
Alternative recipient	One duplicate may be left with an adult member of the person's family.
Residence condition	The adult family member must be residing with the person summoned.
Servant excluded	A servant is expressly excluded from the meaning of family member for Section 66.
Receipt	If required by the serving officer, the recipient signs a receipt on the back of the other duplicate.

What happens if Section 66 service is also not possible?

Section 67 BNSS provides the next procedural step. If service cannot, despite due diligence, be effected under Section 64, Section 65 or Section 66, the serving officer must affix one duplicate of the summons to a conspicuous part of the house or homestead where the person summoned ordinarily resides. The Court may then, after making such inquiries as it considers fit, declare the summons duly served or direct fresh service in another appropriate manner.

Related BNSS provisions

Section	Subject
Section 63	Form of summons.
Section 64	Summons how served.
Section 65	Service of summons on corporate bodies, firms and societies.
Section 66	Service when persons summoned cannot be found.
Section 67	Procedure when service cannot be effected as before provided.
Section 68	Service on Government servant.
Section 69	Service of summons outside local limits.
Section 70	Proof of service in specified cases.

Relationship with the earlier CrPC

Section 66 BNSS broadly carries forward the rule previously contained in Section 64 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for service when the person summoned cannot be found. The essential structure remains service on an adult family member residing with that person after due diligence, with servants excluded from the meaning of family member.

When did Section 66 BNSS come into force?

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act 46 of 2023. By S.O. 848(E) dated 23 February 2024, the Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 as the date on which the Sanhita came into force, subject to the exception stated in that notification.

Legal note: Section 66 is an alternative mode of service that depends on prior due diligence. The service record, identity and residence of the recipient, and compliance with the statutory sequence may be relevant if service is disputed before the Court.

Official legal resources

For the current statutory text and chapter structure, see the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 on India Code. The Ministry of Home Affairs also provides the official New Criminal Laws page and the BNSS commencement notification, S.O. 848(E).