REGISTERED POST PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE

PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE BY REGISTERED POST AND BURDEN OF PROOF

13. This Court after considering large number of its earlier judgments in Greater Mohali Area Development Authority and Ors. v. Manju Jain and Ors., AIR 2010 SC 3817, held that in view of the provisions of Section 114 Illustration (f) of the Evidence Act, 1872 and Section 27 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 there is a presumption that the addressee has received the letter sent by registered post. However, the presumption is rebuttable on a consideration of evidence of impeccable character. A similar view has been reiterated by this Court in Dr. Sunil Kumar Sambhudayal Gupta and Ors. v. State of Maharashtra JT 2010 (12) SC 287.

14. In Gujarat Electricity Board and Anr. v. Atmaram Sungomal Poshani, AIR 1989 SC 1433, this Court held as under:

There is presumption of service of a letter sent under registered cover, if the same is returned back with a postal endorsement that the addressee refused to accept the same. No doubt the presumption is rebuttable and it is open to the party concerned to place evidence before the Court to rebut the presumption by showing that the address mentioned on the cover was incorrect or that the postal authorities never tendered the registered letter to him or that there was no occasion for him to refuse the same. The burden to rebut the presumption lies on the party, challenging the factum of service.

(Emphasis added)

15. The provisions of Section 101 of the Evidence Act provide that the burden of proof of the facts rests on the party who substantially asserts it and not on the party who denies it. In fact, burden of proof means that a party has to prove an allegation before he is entitled to a judgment in his favour. Section 103 provides that burden of proof as to any particular fact lies on that person who wishes the court to believe in its existence, unless it is provided by any special law that the proof of that fact shall lie on any particular person. The provision of Section 103 amplifies the general rule of Section 101 that the burden of proof lies on the person who asserts the affirmative of the facts in issue[(2011) 2 SCALE 302 : (2011) 3 SCC 545: AIR 2011 SC 1150 : (2011) 2 SCR 648]