SHANTI SINHA Vs. SANJAY KUMAR SHOW

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This application under Article 227 of the constitution of India has been assailed against order no. 32 dtd. 6/10/2018 passed by learned Judge 8th Bench, City Civil Court, Calcutta in Title Suit no. 692 of 2014. Petitioners case in a nutshell is that petitioners as plaintiffs have instituted aforesaid suit against the defendants/opposite parties herein with a prayer for declaration, injunction and for other consequential relief. On receipt of summon of the said suit, the defendants/opposite parties entered appearance and filed their written statements denying material allegations made in the plaint which includes the statement that the defendant no. 2 to 3 and defendant no. 6 on suppression of material facts or by practicing fraud upon the registering authority, somehow have managed to get impugned deeds of conveyance dtd. 20/12/2008 without complying with any of the requisite formalities.

(2.) On the date of peremptory hearing, the plaintiffs tendered their examination-in-chief on affidavit under the provision of order XVIII Rule 4 of the code of the Civil Procedure (in short "code") and at the same time duly tendered certain documents for admitting in evidence and prayed for marking those documents as exhibit. Out of those documents three documents namely the certified copies of the deed of conveyance although were tendered but learned court below did not mark said documents as exhibit but marked with the letter "Y" "XX' "YY" for identification. The plaintiffs/petitioners herein took out an application under sec. 151 of the code seeking an order for admitting the certified copy of the said deeds into evidence by marking the said deeds as exhibit on the ground that the certified copy of registered deeds are certified to be true by a public officer under sec. 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (in short Act of 1872) and in that view of the matter , the certified copies of deed of conveyance are public documents within the meaning of sec. 74 of the Act of 1872 and as such certified copies of the deeds are very much admissible in evidence without calling the registrar as witness. It was further contended in the said application that it is well settled position of law that the certified copy of the public documents prepared under Sec. 76 of the Act of 1872 is admissible under Sec. 77 of the said act.

(3.) Learned court below had taken up said application for hearing but by the impugned order rejected the same.