Section 68 BNSS: Service of Summons on Government Servant
Section 68 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) lays down a special method for service of a court summons when the person summoned is in the active service of the Government. The provision directs the Court ordinarily to route the summons through the head of the office where the Government servant is employed.
Text of Section 68 BNSS
68. Service on Government servant. - (1) Where the person summoned is in the active service of the Government, the Court issuing the summons shall ordinarily send it in duplicate to the head of the office in which such person is employed; and such head shall thereupon cause the summons to be served in the manner provided by section 64, and shall return it to the Court under his signature with the endorsement required by that section.
(2) Such signature shall be evidence of due service.
What Section 68 BNSS Means
Section 68 applies when a Court has issued a summons to a person who is in the active service of the Government. Instead of ordinarily arranging direct service on that person, the Court sends the summons in duplicate to the head of the office where the person works.
The head of office must then cause the summons to be served in the manner prescribed by Section 64 BNSS. After service, the summons is returned to the Court under the signature of the head of office together with the endorsement required by Section 64.
Key Requirements of Section 68
- The person summoned must be in the active service of the Government.
- The Court ordinarily sends the summons in duplicate to the head of the office where the person is employed.
- The head of office is responsible for causing service in accordance with Section 64 BNSS.
- The summons is returned to the Court under the signature of the head of office with the required endorsement.
- Under sub-section (2), that signature is evidence of due service.
Meaning of Important Expressions
Person in active service of the Government
Section 68 uses the expression "person summoned is in the active service of the Government." The section does not create a separate general definition of "Government servant"; instead, its procedure is triggered by the summoned person being in active Government service at the relevant time.
Head of the office
For the purpose of Section 68, the summons is ordinarily transmitted to the head of the office in which the summoned person is employed. The head of office acts as the official channel through which service is caused and certified back to the Court.
Evidence of due service
Sub-section (2) gives evidentiary effect to the signature of the head of office on the returned summons. The signature serves as evidence that the summons has been duly served in the manner contemplated by the provision.
How Section 68 Works with Section 64 BNSS
Section 68 expressly incorporates the service method contained in Section 64 BNSS. Section 68 therefore provides the special routing mechanism for a Government servant, while Section 64 supplies the manner in which the summons is to be served.