Scheduling Four Services When the Summons Is Delivered Late
You are a process server at the District Court, Warangal. On 21 October 2024 you must serve four defendants in four villages: P, Q, R and S. Each service takes exactly 20 minutes at the address. The defendants' availability windows are: P 9:30–10:30 a.m.; Q 10:00–10:30 a.m.; R 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.; S 1:00–2:00 p.m. Travel times by motorcycle are: Court to P 15 minutes; Court to Q 25 minutes; P to Q 20 minutes; Q to R 15 minutes; R to S 25 minutes; S back to Court 30 minutes. You start from Court at 9:00 a.m. The usual order is P, Q, R, S. There is no other transport and no waiting allowed beyond the windows. The court hands you the summons at 9:30 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m. because the judge is signing the plaint. You must decide whether to follow the usual order or change it, and what to report.
1. For a 9:00 a.m. start, show that P-Q-R-S is feasible. Calculate arrival, waiting and service times.
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Court to P takes 15 minutes: arrive P at 9:15. Wait until the window opens at 9:30. Serve P from 9:30 to 9:50. P to Q takes 20 minutes: arrive Q at 10:10. Serve Q from 10:10 to 10:30, which is within Q's 10:00–10:30 window. Q to R takes 15 minutes: arrive R at 10:45. Wait until 11:30. Serve R from 11:30 to 11:50. R to S takes 25 minutes: arrive S at 12:15. Wait until 1:00 p.m. Serve S from 1:00 to 1:20 p.m. S to Court takes 30 minutes: return at 1:50 p.m. All four services are completed within their windows, so P-Q-R-S is feasible with a 9:00 a.m. start.
2. For a 9:30 a.m. start, test P-Q-R-S and Q-P-R-S. Which defendant's window cannot be met? Show calculations.
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P-Q-R-S with a 9:30 start: Court to P takes 15 minutes, so arrive P at 9:45. Serve P from 9:45 to 10:05, within P's window. P to Q takes 20 minutes, so arrive Q at 10:25. Serving Q would take until 10:45, which is outside Q's 10:00–10:30 window. Q is missed by 15 minutes.
Q-P-R-S with a 9:30 start: Court to Q takes 25 minutes, so arrive Q at 9:55. Wait 5 minutes, then serve Q from 10:00 to 10:20, within Q's window. Q to P takes 20 minutes, so arrive P at 10:40. P's window ended at 10:30, so P is missed by 10 minutes. Therefore, with a 9:30 start, no order can serve both P and Q. P-first misses Q by 15 minutes; Q-first misses P by 10 minutes.
3. What should you do: skip Q and serve P, or skip P and serve Q? Explain the reasoning and what the return should state.
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Choose Q first. Q's availability window is only 30 minutes, while P's is 60 minutes, and Q-first reduces the lateness to P to 10 minutes rather than the 15-minute lateness to Q under P-first. Serve Q from 10:00 to 10:20, travel to P, and reach P at 10:40. Attempt service on P, but do not record P as served if the defendant is no longer available. The return should state: the summons was handed over at 9:30 a.m.; Q was served at 10:00–10:20 a.m.; the process server reached P at 10:40 a.m.; P was not available within the window; P could not be served. The return should also request a fresh date or further orders for P. Do not falsely endorse P as served. If the court requires explanation, state that the late handing over of the summons caused the conflict, and that Q was prioritised because its window was narrower.