RAJAMMAL Vs. SUMATHI AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff in O.S.No.46 of 2015 pending on the file of Sub Court, Attur is the petitioner in the revision. The trial is in progress. After the completion of the evidence adduced on the side of the plaintiff, the defendants were called upon to lead evidence and during the course of cross-examination of DW2, an attempt was made to introduce a xerox copy of a document produced by the defendants in an enquiry/investigation by the Police in Attur Police Station. The same was denied and the attempt made by the plaintiff to introduce the said document as one for the purpose of cross examination of DW2, resulted in a failure. Thereafter, the plaintiff filed a Memo dated 18.12.2015 for the production of the said document as a documentary evidence on his side. The same was negatived by the trial court by order dated 29.01.2016. It is as against the said order, the present civil revision petition has been filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

(2.) The matter stands listed today for admission. The submissions made by Mr.V.Bhiman, learned counsel for the petitioner are heard. The copy of the impugned order and the copies of the connected papers produced in the form of typed set of papers are also perused.

(3.) Upon such hearing and after such perusal, this court is of the view that there is no substance in the challenge made to the order of the trial court. First of all, Order VII Rule 14 CPC mandates that the plaintiff shall prepare a list of documents on which he sues and shall produce along with the list, the documents which are in his possession or power and in case they are not in his possession, or his power, he shall state in whose possession or power such documents are. Sub clause (3) of Rule 14 says that when such a document, which ought to have been produced along with the list annexed to the plaint or entered in the list contemplated under sub clause (2) shall not be received later on unless the leave of this court is obtained. Prior to 1999, sub clause (4) of Rule 14 permitted the plaintiff to use documents, which were not produced along with the plaint or included in the list contemplated under sub clause (2), to use them for cross-examining the defendant side witnesses and to hand over the same in order to make witness refresh his memory alone. Now the said provision has been omitted by the amendment. At the same time, Rule 1-A has been introduced under Order VIII CPC, which gives such a right to the defendant alone to use such document for the cross-examination of the plaintiff's side witnesses and to hand over the same to any witness merely for the purpose of having the memory of such witness refreshed.