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Supreme Court Rules Against Serving Legal Notices via WhatsApp or Electronic Means


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The Supreme Court of India has clarified that police authorities cannot serve notices to accused individuals through WhatsApp or other electronic means. The Court has directed all States and Union Territories (UTs) to issue a Standing Order to their police forces, mandating that notices under Section 41-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973, or Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, must be served only through the prescribed legal methods.

The bench, led by Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal, emphasized that notices cannot be sent through electronic platforms like WhatsApp as an alternative to the formal service methods outlined in the CrPC and BNSS.

In its ruling, the bench stated, “It is made amply clear that service of notice through WhatsApp or other electronic modes cannot be considered or recognised as an alternative or substitute to the mode of service recognised and prescribed under the CrPC, 1973/BNSS, 2023.”

The Court also directed that the police in all states and UTs must issue an additional Standing Order to ensure notices are served to accused persons only in the manner outlined by the CrPC or BNSS.

The issue was raised by Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, who was appointed as amicus curiae (friend of the court). Luthra pointed out that the law requires notices to be served in person, not through electronic means like WhatsApp. He highlighted that notices under Section 41-A of the CrPC had been sent via WhatsApp, but accused individuals failed to appear before investigating officers, with no action taken against the officers who sent the notices.

Luthra also referred to a controversial Standing Order issued by the Director General of Police (DGP) in Haryana, which allowed police officers to serve notices through WhatsApp, email, SMS, or other electronic methods. This practice, according to Luthra, was not in line with the legal requirements.

The amicus curiae further cited the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI, which upheld the Delhi High Court’s stance that serving notices through WhatsApp or other electronic means is not valid under Section 41-A of the CrPC, as it does not comply with the formal service methods prescribed in the law.

Luthra also pointed to Section 532 of the BNSS, 2023, which permits trials and proceedings to be conducted electronically, but explicitly states that notices under Section 35 of the BNSS cannot be served through WhatsApp or other electronic platforms.

This ruling reinforces the importance of adhering to traditional methods of legal notice service to ensure fairness and transparency in the legal process.

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