ROHIT STEELS PVT LTD Vs. PODDAR PROJECTS LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent filed O.S.No.444 of 1997 in the court of III Senior Civil Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad, against the petitioner, for recovery of certain amount. The trial itself commenced at a belated stage. The cross-examination of petitioner, as DW.1 is said to have taken place in the month of August, 2006.

(2.) The petitioner filed I.A.No.1902 of 2006 in the suit under Order XVIII Rule 17 read with Section 151 CPC, to recall him for re- examination. He stated that he has answered several questions in the cross-examination in Hindi and in the course of transldtion, some inaccuracy has crept in. It is also stated that the discrepancy, in what is stated by the petitioner and what was translated, was noticed only after the certified copy of the deposition was obtained. The application was resisted by the respondent and ultimately, the trial court dismissed the I.A, through its order, dated 18-10-2006. The same is challenged in this Civil Revision Petition. Sri Javed Razack, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the necessity for the petitioner to file the instant application arose on account of the fact that some of the sentences in the deposition of the petitioner were found to be at variance with what was stated by him. He has referred to various sentences in different paragraphs of the cross-examination.

(3.) It is not as if only those persons, who know English, alone are permitted to depose as witnesses. In fact, majority of the witnesses depose in vernacular languages and the deposition is translated into English, by the court. The presence of the counsel for parties ensures that the accurate translated version of the deposition is recorded. The discrepancies, if any, are corrected at more stages than one. Firstly, when the dictation takes place, the concerned parties or their counsel can certainly point out the real purport of the statement of the witness. Secondly, before the recorded deposition is signed, witnesses as well as the concerned counsel are supposed to go through it. The deposition acquires its evidentiary value only, when it is signed by the witness. Once the witness has chosen to sign it, he is supposed to have been satisfied about its accuracy and he cannot be permitted to turn around and complain of any inaccuracy.