Differences between Summon and Subpoena

01.Summon means the intimation which is sent at the start of a case to the defendant by the court. It is a document issued by the court  calling upon the person to whom it is directed to attend before a judge in a case. On the otherhand, A subpoena  is a request for the production of documents, or a request to appear in court or other legal proceeding. It is court-ordered command that essentially requires on any person to do something, such as testify or present information that may help support the facts that are at issue in a pending case.

02.Summon is issued only against the defedant and witnesses related to the case. Subpoena may  issued to any person as the court thinks fit to acquire evidence.

03.There are no classification of summon. On the otherhand, there are two types of subpoenas- subpoena ad testificandum and subpoena duces tecum

04.   Issue of summon is an essential stage of a civil suit.  Subpoena is need for finding of necessary information and evidences relating to a case.

05.  A summon is a legal document that requires someone to appear in court to respond to a charge or other violation. On the otherhand, a subpoena is a legal document that requires someone to testify or otherwise provide evidence for a case.

06.  Summons is always issued to appear someone personally before a judge. But beside person subpoenas can be used for the gathering of evidence also. For e.g. subpoenas may include requests for bringing Blood test information ,DNA samples etc. before the court.