STATE OF MADRAS Vs. SAYED ABDURAHIMAN BAFFAKKI THANGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State of Madras who is the petitioner in this revision petition is the second defendant in the suit filed for recovery of certain transport charges stated to have been incurred by the plaintiff-respondent before me in the course of his activities as a wholesale dealer in food-grains in Kotayam taluk and which extra expenses, he alleged was undertaken in pursuance of a contract with the Government.

(2.) The plaintiff-respondent filed an application calling upon the Government to produce certain documents. They were produced and when at the time of trial the plaintiff sought to exhibit them, the Government raised an objection to their being exhibited claiming privilege under Sections 123 and 124 of the Evidence Act.

(3.) The documents in respect of which privilege was claimed by the Collector of South Malabar who originally filed an affidavit in support, of this claim fail under two groups: (1) office notes maintained in the office of the Collector, (2) internal official correspondence which passed between the Collector and his subordinate officials. The claim was rested on the ground of these documents being unpublished official records relating to "affairs of State" whose publication would be prejudicial to public interests, The plaintiff filed a counter affidavit disputing the privilege claimed by the Collector mainly on the ground that the subject-matter dealt with in the documents related to ordinary commercial transactions and not to "affairs of State."