SAIFUDDIN MOSINALI Vs. VORA RAJABALI TAIYABALI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is the original plaintiff. He has filed Regular Civil Suit No. 162 of 1977 in the Court of the learned Civil Judge (Junior Division) Porbandar for recovering possession of the suit premises. Admittedly he applied on 7-4-1981 long time after the issues were framed for permission to produce certain documents. In the application Exh. 42 he did not state any reason for producing the documents at such a late stage. That application was opposed by the opponent- defendant on the ground that both the documents which the petitioner wanted to produce if genuine should have been to his possession and therefore he ought to have produced them at or before the settlement of issues and that it was possible that those documents might have been fabricated or got up subsequently.

(2.) At the time of hearing of the said application it was urged on behalf of the petitioner-plaintiff that even though the suit was filed in 1977 and the issues were framed in 1973 the matter was adjourned from time to time and effective hearing of the suit has not started. It was also urged that the said documents were not produced earlier because talks of compromise were going on. The learned Civil Judge did not accept the explanation for the reason that there was no material on record to show that negotiations for compromise were going on between the parties. He rejected the application for the reason that the documents were not produced at the appropriate stage and that no ground was made out for producing them so late.

(3.) First contention raised on behalf of the petitioner was that the Courts while dealing with such matters should not be too technical and allow production of documents even at later stages of the suit by awar- ding cost to the other side. It was urged that in this case effective hearing of the suit has not begun and the petitioner was willing to pay cost of the other side; and therefore his application ought to have been granted. In support of this contention reliance was placed upon the decision of this Court (Coram : Talati J.) in Civil Revision Application No. 318 of 1980 decided on 10-12-1980.