First Schedule · Order 5 · Rule 20
Substituted service
20. Substituted service.—(1) Where the Court is satisfied that there is reason to believe that the defendant is keeping out of the way for the purpose of avoiding service, or that for any other reason the summons cannot be served in the ordinary way, the Court shall order the summons to be served by affixing a copy thereof in some conspicuous place in the Court-house, and also upon some conspicuous part of the house (if any) in which the defendant is known to have last resided or carried on business or personally worked for gain, or in such other manner as the Court thinks fit. [(1A) Where the Court acting under sub-rule (1) orders service by an advertisement in a newspaper, the newspaper shall be a daily newspaper circulating in the locality in which the defendant is last known to have actually and voluntarily resided, carried on business or personally worked for gain.]
(2) Effect of substituted service.—Service substituted by order of the Court shall be as effectual as if it had been made on the defendant personally.
(3) Where service substituted, time for appearance to be fixed.—Where service is substituted by order of the Court, the Court shall fix such time for the appearance of the defendant as the case may require.
Understand civil procedure
Banaka editorial consolidation of the general central text, with the 2025 postal-service amendments applied. Not an official or certified edition. State/High Court variations, commercial-dispute modifications and prescribed Appendix forms are not consolidated here; consult the source and applicable court rules. Hindi learning guides are original explanations, not a statutory translation. Source checked: 2026-10-01. Source PDF page: 92. Government reference PDF. 2025 amending Act. For reference and study, not individual legal advice.