Section 3 in The Muslim Women (Protection Of Rights On Divorce) Rules, 1986
3. Service of summons
.-(1) Every summons issued by a Magistrate on an application made under the Act, shall be in writing, in duplicate, signed by the Magistrate or by such other officer as he may, from time to time, direct, and shall bear the seal of the Court.(2)Every such summons shall be accompanied by a true copy of the application.(3)Every summons issued under sub-rule (1) shall specify the date of the first hearing of the application which shall not be later than seven days from the date on which the summons is issued.(4)Every summons shall be served by a police officer or by an officer of the Court issuing it.(5)The summons shall, if practicable, be served personally on the respondent, by delivering or tendering to him one of the duplicates of the summons.(6)Every respondent on whom the summons is so served shall, if so required by the serving officer, sign a receipt, therefor on the back of other duplicate.(7)Where the respondent 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 male 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.(8)If the service cannot, by the exercise of due diligence, be effected as provided in sub-rule (6) or sub-rule (7), the serving officer shall affix one of the duplicates of the summons to some conspicuous part of the house or homestead in which the respondent ordinarily resides; and thereupon the Court, after making such inquiries as it thinks fit, may either declare that the summons has been duly served or order fresh summons in such a manner as it considers proper.(9)When a Court desires that a summons issued by it shall be served at any place outside its local jurisdiction, it shall ordinarily send such summons in duplicate to a Magistrate within whose local jurisdiction, the respondent resides, or is, to be there served.(10)When a summons issued by a Court is served outside its local jurisdiction and in any case when an officer who served the 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 summons purporting to be endorsed [in the manner provided by sub-rule (6) or sub-rule (7) 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.(11)The affidavit mentioned in sub-rule (10) may be attached to the duplicates of the summons and returned to the Court.
