RAVINDRA JAIN Vs. DEEPAK PRADHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed the present petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India challenging the order dtd. 15/3/2023 passed by the Additional District Judge, Dharampuri, District Dhar in Regular Civil Suit No.21-A/2019 whereby, the application filed by the respondent/defendant under Order VIII Rule 1A(3) r/w Sec. 151 of CPC has been allowed by taking additional documents on record.

(2.) Facts of the case in brief are that the petitioner had filed a civil suit for taking back possession of the suit property by way of cancelling of license given to his uncle i.e the respondent and also for compensation against the respondent. The petitioner is the title holder of the disputed house in question and the said house is given to the petitioner by his paternal grandfather through a registered gift deed. On the basis of the registered gift deed, the name of the petitioner was recorded as owner in the Municipal Corporation, Dhamnod in the year 1996. The respondent is real uncle of the petitioner and as the respondent did not have any place to stay, the petitioner gave him oral permission to live in the disputed property. Since the petitioner was in a government job, he was not a local resident of Dhamnod and used to visit the house from time to time. The respondent took advantage of the situation and got name of his mother Smt. Sarlabai in the property records by submitting a false application before the authorities. In the year 1996, name of the petitioner was recorded as owner of the said property and it continued till 2001-2002 and without any justification, name of Smt. Sarlabai W/o Trilokchand has been recorded as owner of the disputed property without notice or opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. Against the said illegal action, the petitioner filed a writ petition before the High Court and the same was disposed of with a direction to the authorities to consider the representation of the petitioner and thereafter, name of the petitioner was again recorded as owner of the said property. Thereafter, the petitioner sent a legal notice dtd. 15/6/2019 to the respondent to vacate the property within one month. However, the respondent did not vacate the house within the prescribed period and therefore, the petitioner filed a suit. The respondent filed its written statements on 11/2/2020 and denied the averments of the petitioner. Learned Trial Court framed issues and recorded the evidence of the petitioner. Thereafter, the respondent filed an application under Order VIII Rule 1A(3) r/w 151 of CPC before the Trial Court alongwith nearly 62 additional documents explaining the reason for delay that after he got retired from the service only, he found the said documents therefore, he could not produce the same alongwith his written statements. The petitioner filed a counter to the application stating that taking additional documents on record is not correct under the provisions of law so also the same was filed after a substantial delay and also submitted that the said documents were filed after closing his evidence. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid, the petitioner has preferred this petition.

(3.) Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner submits that the application was filed without assigning any proper reason for filing documents belatedly and learned Trial Court has also passed the order erringly without assigning any cogent reason for the delay in filing the documents. He has placed reliance on the order passed by the M. P. High Court, Principal Seat at Jabalpur in M/s Ashoka Finacp (M.P.) Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Shikha Grih Nirman Sahkari Sanstha (W.P. No.3466/2017 decided on 9/8/2017) and submitted that the leave of the Court is not an empty formality unless cogent explanation is tendered not only as to its necessity for effective decision but also the reasons which prevented the party from not filing those documents. It is also expostulated that the application for taking additional documents has not been filed under correct provision rather, it has been filed under Order VIII Rule 3 r/w Sec. 151 of CPC. In view of the aforesaid, it is prayed that the impugned order passed by the Trial Court be set aside pertaining to taking additional documents on record.