KOCHI: The High Court on Friday held that summons cannot be sent through WhatsApp as there was no provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for doing so.Justice V G Arun observed this while keeping in abeyance the non-bailable arrest warrant issued by the Special Court for cases relating to MPs and MLAs, Ernakulam, against Kerala Congress (Jacob) MLA Anoop Jacob for not appearing before the court in response to its summons. In his petition, he said the summons that claimed to have been sent to him via WhatsApp never reached him.
The court permitted him to appear before the special court and move a bail application. It said the bail application should be considered on the day it is filed and necessary orders be passed. The court observed that CrPC Section 62 dealt with the mode of serving summons. As per Section 65, if this could not be done as provided under Section 62, the serving officer shall affix one of the duplicates of the summons on the consp-icuous part of the house or homestead where the person summoned ordinarily resides.
Thereafter, the court should make such inquiry as it thinks fit and either declare that the summons had been duly served or order fresh summons. As per Rule 7 of the Criminal Rules of Practice, Kerala summons issued to the accused and witnesses shall ordinarily be signed by the Chief Ministerial Officer of the court and the words “by order of the court” shall be prefixed to the signature.