Supreme Court Ruling on Presumption of Service for Registered Postal & Speed Post Demands
Parties: C.C. Alavi Haji v. Palapetty Muhammed & Anr.
The statutory demand notice sent through registered post was returned with postal endorsements such as 'unclaimed' and 'refused'. The respondent argued that actual physical delivery was not established and therefore no cause of action arose for initiating judicial debt recovery proceedings against the defaulting debtor.
The Supreme Court held that under Section 27 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, when a notice is addressed correctly and dispatched by registered post or speed post, service is deemed to be legally complete. The burden of disproving receipt shifts entirely onto the defaulting borrower. In institutional recoveries, banks and NBFCs relying on official India Post dispatch manifests and tracking barcodes establish conclusive legal proof of service.