CHACKKO MATHAI Vs. PAILY MATHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question that arises in this reference is as to whether the judgments of both the courts below should be printed and produced by the appellant when he files the appeal even though he is aggrieved by the first appellate court's judgment and not by the judgment of the court of first instance.

(2.) Printing is expensive and the expenses of litigation should be kept down to the minimum in a country where people are generally poor and equality before the law and equal protection of the laws are assured by the Constitution. Therefore, the party should be asked to produce printed copy only of those papers which the provisions of law actually compel him to do so. Let us, therefore, examine the provisions which require printing. O.41 R.1 CPC. states:

(3.) Thus the legal position is that O.42 R.1, C.P.C. provides for production of certified copies of judgments and decrees of both the lower Courts along with the memorandum of second appeal. O.41 R.1 para 2 provides for printing of copies of judgments where and only where the High Court has prescribed that the judgments shall be printed when a copy is applied for the purpose of appeal. R.228 contains that prescription and provides that only that copy of a judgment or order need be printed against which an appeal to the District Court or the High Court is being tiled. Thus, at the time of the institution of the appeal where the appellant seeks to challenge only the judgment and decree of the first appellate Court he is not called upon to produce printed copies of the judgments of the court of first instance. He may have to produce printed copies of the first court's judgment also at a later stage as prescribed by R.70 of the Rules of the High Court of Kerala if it is found that the said judgment has not already been printed. It is represented before me by counsel that in this case the judgment of the court of first instance has already been printed, but that is a matter to be verified at the stage when R.70 is attracted and not now. I therefore direct the appeal to be numbered without the printed copy of the Trial Court's judgment.