Supreme Court Precedent on Electronic Service of Statutory Notices & Presumption of Receipt
Parties: C.C. Alavi Haji v. Palapetty Muhammed & Anr.
A banking payee dispatched a statutory demand notice following instrument dishonour to the borrower's registered address. The envelope was returned with the endorsement 'unclaimed / not available'. The borrower contended that since physical delivery was not completed, no cause of action arose to institute criminal proceedings under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
The Supreme Court held that once a statutory notice is dispatched to the verified registered address of the borrower through recognized post or registered electronic means, a mandatory legal presumption of due service arises under Section 27 of the General Clauses Act. A defaulting borrower cannot evade judicial process by avoiding postal delivery. The ruling establishes that institutional creditors with verified dispatch logs possess unimpeachable standing to initiate prosecution.