Correcting a Defective Return of Service
The following return of service is filed by a process server in a civil suit:
'I have went to the residence of the defendant on 14.08.2024 at 10:30 AM. The defendant's mother was present and she refuse to accept the summons. I have affixed the copy on the door and return the original. The defendant is not available in the village since two months. I request the honourable court to take necessary action.'
The judge finds the report vague and grammatically faulty. The record shows the process server actually visited twice, on 13.08.2024 and 14.08.2024, and that the defendant's mother is an adult member of the family. The court wants a corrected return that can be read with the record and that does not overstate what happened.
1. Identify at least five grammatical or usage errors in the quoted report and correct them, naming the rule involved.
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- 'I have went' should be 'I went'. The present perfect requires the past participle 'gone'; for a completed visit, the simple past 'went' is correct.
- 'she refuse' should be 'she refused'. The verb must agree with the third-person singular subject and the past tense is needed.
- 'return the original' should be 'returned the original'. The verbs in the series must be parallel in the past tense.
- 'since two months' should be 'for two months'. 'Since' is used with a point of time; 'for' is used with a duration.
- 'the honourable court' is better written as 'this Hon'ble Court' or 'the Hon'ble Court' in Indian legal drafting.
- 'take necessary action' is vague and not a factual statement; a return should state what was done, not pray for action.
- 'on the door' should be 'on the outer door' for precision.
- 'at 10:30 AM' is better styled 'at 10:30 a.m.'.
2. Rewrite the report in formal English as a return of service, keeping only facts and adding the missing details from the record. Do not invent facts.
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Return of Service
I, the undersigned process server, report as follows:
- I visited the residence of the defendant on 13.08.2024 and again on 14.08.2024 at 10:30 a.m. in connection with the summons in this suit.
- On both visits, the defendant was not present. His mother, an adult member of his family, was present.
- On 14.08.2024, I tendered the summons to the defendant's mother, but she refused to accept it on his behalf.
- I affixed a copy of the summons on the outer door of the house on 14.08.2024.
- The original summons is returned herewith.
I make this return conscientiously and state that the facts stated above are true to the best of my knowledge.
This rewrite keeps to the record: two visits, the mother's adult status, her refusal and the affixing. It does not assert that no adult male member was present, because the record does not say so.
3. Explain why 'I request the honourable court to take necessary action' is weak in a return of service and what should replace it.
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That sentence is weak because a return of service is a factual report by the serving officer, not a prayer or a legal submission. 'Take necessary action' does not tell the court what happened: whether the defendant was served, who refused, when the affixing took place, or what witnesses were present. It also invites the court to guess. The return should state the material facts and leave the court to draw the legal conclusion. A better ending is: 'The original summons is returned herewith for the court's consideration. I report accordingly.' If the process server wants to point out a difficulty, he should state it factually, for example: 'The defendant's mother refused to accept the copy; no adult male member was present at the time of affixing.'