If a Court of law has issued a Summons against you after a complaint/petition has been filed against you, then legally you cannot refuse to accept the summons, and you are bound to appear before the concerned Court personally or through a lawyer or as mentioned in the said Summons.
What is a Summons?
➧A summons is an order of the Court in the form of a document, by which it direct someone to appear before the Court of law on a specific day at a certain time.
➧It is the beginning of a legal case filed in the Court, and it is issued to the opposite party/Defendant in a civil case, and to the accused in a criminal case, with the direction to appear before the Court for defending a case filed by the Plaintiff/Complainant.
➧It is issued on the direction of a Court to call a person to appear before a Judge or judicial officer of the Court.
➧As per Section 61 of the Criminal Procedure Code, every summons issued by a Court shall be in writing along with a duplicate copy bearing the signature of the Presiding Officer/Judge of the Court or any such officer that may be authorized by the Court and shall bear the seal of the Court.
What is included in a Summons?
Generally a Summons includes:
➣The name of the Court issuing the
summons.
➣The name of the party to whom the
Summons is sent.
➣The number assigned to the case by
the court
➣The names of the Plaintiff (person
filing suit) and Defendant
➣Details of the filed case
➣Information for the Defendant on which
date, time his appearance needed.
What you do, after receiving the summons
of the Court of law.
In case of Criminal Proceedings:
A criminal court summons is
non-negotiable, and you can face criminal charges, if you failed to appear
before the Court of law on the date as mentioned in the Summons, and also you
are bound to comply the direction issued by the court.
Hence, if you failed to comply the
direction of the Court after receiving the summons, then the judge has the
authority to issue a warrant for your arrest due to non-compliance of the order,
and further non-compliance of the direction of the Court, may declared you as
an absconder and an offender, and on further non-compliance may result in issue
a lookout notice against you. This allows a police official to arrest you at
any time or in any location.
In case of Civil Proceedings:
As per the Section 27 of the Civil Procedure Code, when a suit has been duly instituted, then a summons may be issued to the Defendant by the Court to appear and answer the claim, and may be served in manner prescribed, on such day not beyond 30 days from the date of the institution of the suit.
Hence, if a petition is filed in the Court of law against you, and you failed to appear or comply with direction of the Court after receiving the summons issued by that Court, then the concerned Court may pass an Ex-parte Decree against you , after accepting the contents of the petition filed by the petitioner.
Conclusion:
When a Court summons received by
you upon filing a Civil petition, then you may appear personally or can engage
a lawyer to appear before the concerned court on your behalf, and to file the
reply of the petition filed against you.
But, in case of receiving a
summons of any criminal case, your appearance before the concerned Court is
personally required and if you are unable to appear on the fixed date as
mentioned in the summons, then you may move an application for exemption from
personal appearance in the concerned Court.
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