ADURI DAS Vs. MANOJIT KUMAR DAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The revisional application arises out of an order dated April 21, 2023, passed by the learned Civil Judge (Junior Division) at Kalyani, Nadia, in Title Suit No.58 of 2015.

(2.) By the order impugned, the learned court rejected an application dated March 14, 2023, filed by the plaintiffs under Sec. 45 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The plaintiffs had prayed for opinion of a scientific expert, upon comparison of the Left Thumb Impression (LTI) of late Jasoda Sundari Das on the alleged deeds bearing no.4944 of 1987 and the 4945 of 1987 with the LTI of late Jasoda Sundari Das in the patta deed, which was the admitted LTI of the deceased and was already on record. The opinion sought was whether the LTIs in the alleged deeds was of the same person, whose LTI appeared on the patta deed.

(3.) The questioned deeds had been marked as X and Y for identification and had been filed by the principal defendants, who claimed that they had been gifted the property by late Jasoda Sundari Das. The plaintiffs denied such deed and contended that their mother could sign. Thus, the LTI on the questioned deeds were not that of their late mother. A prayer was accordingly made for comparison of the LTIs in the admitted patta deed with the deeds filed by the defendants in the suit. Appointment of a fingerprint expert was prayed for. The defendants objected to the application by filing their written objection, inter alia, contending that evidence was already closed and the suit was at the stage of argument. At such a belated stage, the only intention of the plaintiffs in asking for an expert opinion was to delay the suit and also to fill up the lacuna in the evidence.