A summons is an official document issued by a court requiring a person to appear before it on a specified date — either as a party to a case (civil or criminal), as a witness, or to produce documents. In civil practice under the CPC, summons to the defendant follows the filing of a plaint and registration of the suit; in criminal practice, summons issues in specific case types under the BNSS (previously CrPC).
Civil summons are governed by Order V of the CPC. They contain: the court, the case number, the names of the parties, the time and place the defendant must appear, and a direction to file a written statement. Service of summons can be by various modes — personal service, registered post with acknowledgment, substituted service (publication), and increasingly by email or other electronic means under the 2002 CPC amendments and subsequent updates.
Criminal summons issue under specific sections of the BNSS — notably Section 229 for summons cases and related provisions for witness summons. Service rules are similar to civil: personal service preferred, with substituted methods where necessary.
Non-service or defective service of summons is a common ground for setting aside ex parte decrees under Order IX Rule 13 CPC — if the defendant was never properly served, the ex parte proceeding stands vitiated. Conversely, deliberate evasion of service can invite adverse inferences and substituted service orders.
Advocates practicing at trial courts spend meaningful time tracking summons — ensuring their client's summons is served properly, and monitoring whether the opposing party has been served.