Proof of service in such cases and when serving officer not present
Section 68 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with proof of service in such cases and when serving officer not present. When a summons issued by a Court is served outside its local jurisdiction, and in any case where the officer who has served a summons is not present at the hearing of the case, an affidavit, purporting to be made before a Magistrate, that such summons has been served, and a duplicate of the summons The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1974. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(1) When a summons issued by a Court is served outside its local jurisdiction, and in any case where the officer who has served a summons is not present at the hearing of the case, an affidavit, purporting to be made before a Magistrate, that such summons has been served, and a duplicate of the summons purporting to be endorsed (in the manner provided by section 62 or section 64) by the person to whom it was delivered or tendered or with whom it was left, shall be admissible in evidence, and the statements made therein shall be deemed to be correct unless and until the contrary is proved.
(2) The affidavit mentioned in this section may be attached to the duplicate of the summons and returned to the Court.
Section 68, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 70 Proof of service in such cases and when serving officer not present Text carried over almost unchanged 95%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Referred to by 1
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Shyamkumar P.b. @ Shyam vs Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In cases involving cheque dishonour where the parties are willing to settle, the court should facilitate mediation and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms rather than adjudicating the constitutional validity of the substantive law, thereby promoting settlement and reducing litigation burden while protecting the interests of both parties through enforceable compromise agreements.
On this section: Provision under which summons was issued to the petitioner in the original criminal complaint case
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 68
What have the courts held on Section 68 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Shyamkumar P.b. @ Shyam vs Union of India (09 Aug 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Provision under which summons was issued to the petitioner in the original criminal complaint case.
How do I find court cases under Section 68 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: CRPC 68, section 68 CRPC, section 68 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. People searching for it also type crpc 68 and 252 and 68 crpc in bnss. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Shyamkumar P.b. @ Shyam vs Union of India (09 Aug 2017).
What should I read with Section 68 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 62 (Summons how served), section 64 (Service when persons summoned cannot be found), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 70 (Proof of service in such cases and when serving officer not present), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 68 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 68 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 68, came into force on 01 Apr 1974, having been enacted on 25 Jan 1974. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 320. Compounding of offences1554 words
- 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty four hours1005 words
- 220. Trial for more than one offence962 words
- 360. Order to release on probation of good conduct or after admonition804 words
- 2. Definitions799 words
- 198. Prosecution for offences against marriage774 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 330a1099-77ad-4a2e-b22a-769b33398f9e). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.