Section 66 BNSS: Service when persons summoned cannot be found (Formerly Section 64 CrPC)

Section 66 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Service when persons summoned cannot be found

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

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 with 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.

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 66

Section 66 provides the procedure for service when the person summoned cannot, by the exercise of due diligence, be found, permitting service by leaving a duplicate with an adult family member.

Exercise of Due Diligence: Serving officer must make genuine, diligent efforts to trace and find the person summoned.
Adult Family Member: Summons may be left with some adult member of the person's family residing with them.
Servant Excluded: An employee or servant is expressly not a member of the family within the meaning of this section.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Central Bank of India v. V. Rajagopalan AIR 1964 SC 743: The Supreme Court held that substituted or family service can be resorted to only after diligent attempts to effect personal service fail.
Hemendra Nath v. Kumar Purnendu AIR 1956 Cal 510: Held that serving a domestic servant or casual visitor does not constitute valid service under procedural law.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Scrutinize the process server's report. If the summons was handed to a domestic help, driver, or neighbour, challenge service under Section 66 as non-est, invalidating any subsequent bailable/non-bailable warrant.