Service on a limited company must be at its registered office; absence of due service shifts limitation to actual knowledge.

Service of summons on a limited company must comply with the Companies Act, and not merely the general rule for corporations under Order 29 Rule 2 CPC. Summons and other documents must be served at the registered office; service sent only to the company's business premises was therefore not treated as due service. The presumption arising from a registered-post endorsement of refusal was rebutted by evidence that the office was closed during the relevant period. As valid service was absent, limitation for setting aside the ex parte decree ran from actual knowledge of the decree, and the application was held to be within time.

---

---

Issues: Whether summons sent by registered post to the company's business premises could be treated as valid service on a limited company, and whether the ex parte decree was liable to be set aside on the ground of non-service and limitation.

Analysis: Service of summons on a corporation under Order 29, Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure is subject to any statutory provision regulating service of process. For a limited company, Section 51 of the Companies Act governs service of documents, and "document" includes summons within Section 2(15) of that Act. Accordingly, service has to be effected at the registered office of the company. Since the summons was not served at the registered office, due service was not established. The presumption arising from a registered-post endorsement of refusal was also rebutted by evidence that the Calcutta office had remained closed during the relevant period, making valid tender and refusal improbable. As summons was not duly served, limitation under Article 123 of the Limitation Act, 1963, ran from knowledge of the decree, and the application was filed within time on the facts found.

Conclusion: The ex parte decree was rightly set aside, and the revision challenging that order failed.

Final Conclusion: The decision affirms that a limited company must be served at its registered office in accordance with the Companies Act, and that where due service is absent, limitation for setting aside an ex parte decree begins from actual knowledge of the decree.

Ratio Decidendi: In the case of a limited company, statutory service requirements prevail over the general rule for corporations, and a rebuttable presumption of service by registered post cannot survive where due service at the registered office is not proved.

---