Service of notices, etc., addressed to individuals.

The service of every notice and bill under this Act on any person or to any person to whom it is by name addressed shall, in all cases not otherwise specially provided for, in this Act, be effected by a Board or an officer or servant or other person authorised by the Board in this behalf or, on such terms as may be agreed upon, by any officer or servant of the Government in the following manner:— (a) wherever it is practicable service shall be made by delivering or tendering the notice or bill personally to the person to whom it is addressed, unless he has an agent empowered to accept service, in which case service on such agent shall be sufficient. (b) Where such person cannot be found and has no agent empowered to accept service on his behalf, service may be made on any adult male member of his family who is residing with him. Explanation.—A servant is not a member of the family within the meaning of this clause. (c) Where the serving officer delivers or tenders the notice or bill to such person personally, or to an agent or other person on his behalf, he shall require the signature of the person to whom it is so delivered or tendered to an acknowledgement of service. (d) Where such person or his agent or such other person as aforesaid refuses to sign the acknowledgement, or where the serving officer, after using all due and reasonable deligence, cannot find such person and there is no agent empowered to accept service on his behalf, nor any other person on whom service can be made, the serving officer shall affix the notice or bill on the outer door or some other conspicuous part of the house in which he ordinarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain and shall then return the original to the authority who issued the notice or bill with a report endorsed thereon or annexed thereto stating that he has so affixed the copy, the circumstances under which he did so, and the name and address of the person (if any) by whom the house was identified and in whose presence the copy was affixed. (e) The serving officer shall, in all cases in which service has been made under clause (c), endorse or annex, on or to the original notice or bill, a return stating the time when and the manner in which it was served, and the name and address of the person (if any) identifying the person served and witnessing the delivery or tender. (f) Where the authority issuing the notice or bill is satisfied that there is reason to believe that the person to whom it is addressed is keeping out of the way for the purpose of avoiding service, or that for any other reason the notice or bill cannot be served in the ordinary way, such authority shall order it to be served by affixing a copy thereof in some conspicuous place in the office, and also upon some conspicuous part of the house (if any) in which such person is known to have last resided or carried on business or personally worked for gain, or in such other manner as he thinks fit. Service substituted by order of such authority shall be as effectual as if it had been made on such person personally. Where service is substituted by order of the authority, the authority shall fix such time for the appearance of the person as the case may require. (g) Where the person to whom the notice or bill is addressed resides out of the district and has no agent in the district empowered to accept service, the notice or bill shall be addressed to him at the place where he is residing and sent to him by post, if there is postal communication between such place and the place from which the notice or bill is sent.