P R GOVINDARAJULU Vs. SRINIVASA VYAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Plaintiff in O.S. No. 5450 of 1996 is the revision petitioner in both the petitions, who has filed petitions before the court below in I.A. No. 7517 to permit the Petitioner / Plaintiff to recall himself i.e., PW1 and to let in further evidence and I.A. No. 7518 of 2002 to re-open the evidence of plaintiff. Both the petitions were dismissed by the court below, hence the present revision petitions.

(2.) The facts of the case is that after completion of the plaintiff's side evidence, the respondent/defendant has filed a petition in I.A. No. 5963 of 2002 for filing 17 documents and the same was allowed as the petitioner herein has not opposed. Subsequently, the petitioner herein has filed the above said two applications in I.A. Nos. 7517 and 7518 of 2002 which were dismissed on the main ground that they were filed to speak about the documents of the defendant which are yet to be marked.

(3.) Mr. Natanasabapathy, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner herein has filed a petition under Order 18 Rule 17 of CPC read with Section 151 of C.P.C., but the trial court erred in holding that the said petitions were filed under Section 151 of C.P.C; that under Order 13 of C.P.C all the documents should should have been filed prior to the commencement of trial, whereas, in this case, the respondent has filed the documents after closing of the evidence by the plaintiff with the result the petitioner could not speak about the validity and veracity of the said documents, hence the said two petitions were filed and dismissal of the same caused great prejudice to the petitioner; that even an opportunity is afforded later it would not cure the illegality; and that the defendant could take a plea that the petitioner's stand in respect of the said documents as later thought and prayed for setting aside the orders of dismissal dated 17-06-2002.