Notice Issued via WhatsApp in PDF Format Is Valid, Says Bombay High Court

Mumbai, June 16: The Bombay High Court has recently approved for service of notice in an execution application through WhatsApp messenger. The decision was taken by the Court after it found out that the notice served in the form of a PDF file was not only delivered, but the attachment was opened as well.

According to a report by LiveLaw.com, Justice GS Patel was hearing an execution application where the respondent Rohit Jadhav was evading service of notice under Order XXI Rule 22 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908. In his statement, Patel said that for the purposes of service of Notice under Order XXI Rule 22, I will accept this. “I do so because the icon indicators clearly show that not only was the message and its attachment delivered to the Respondent’s number but that both were opened,” Patel added.

Reports inform that he was served notice by an authorized officer of the claimant, SBI Cards and Payments Services Pvt Ltd, by sending a PDF and message to his mobile number on WhatsApp. It must be noted that the claimants had filed the execution application against Mumbai resident Rohit Jadhav who was evading all their calls and efforts by legal representatives to reach out to him. After tracing Jadhav’s number, a notice was sent to him informing him about the next date of hearing.

Reports inform that Justice Patel had earlier set a precedent in April 2017, in the case of Kross Television India Pvt. Ltd. v. Vikhyat Chitra Production (2017) in which he held that – “Indian Judiciary system is flexible enough to consider a notice issued through ‘WhatsApp’ or through email admissible in the court of law.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 16, 2018 09:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).