Service of summons on a firm must strictly comply with Order XXX Rule 3; registered post alone may be insufficient.

Service of summons on a firm sued in its firm name must comply with Order XXX Rule 3 CPC and be effected in the manner applicable to the firm's partners or persons in control of its business. Where the partnership business is alleged to have ceased or the firm may have been dissolved, mere dispatch of summons by registered post to the firm's business address is not enough unless service is shown to conform strictly to the prescribed mode. On the facts described, the service adopted was not shown to be valid, and the text states that the ex parte decree was therefore set aside for invalid service of summons.

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Issues: Whether the ex parte decree should be set aside on the ground that the summons was not duly served on the defendant firm.

Analysis: Service of summons on a firm sued in its firm name must conform to the substance of Order XXX, Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Where the partnership business is said to have ceased or the firm may have been dissolved, service by registered post cannot be treated as sufficient unless it is addressed and served in a manner consistent with service upon a partner or a person having control or management of the business. The service adopted here, namely sending the summons by registered post to the firm at the address where it was thought to be carrying on business, was not shown to be in strict compliance with the required mode of service.

Conclusion: The ex parte decree was rightly set aside for invalid service of summons.

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