M/S. DHIMAN INDUSTRIES Vs. NATIONAL IRON WORKS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is directed against the order of the Trial Court dated 23rd Feb., 1989 whereby the application for additional evidence filed on behalf of the plaintiff in' a suit for the recovery of Rs. 22827.76 was allowed.

(2.) In the written statement filed on behalf of the defendant dated 29th Sept., 1986, it was pleaded that the account books of the defendant are no more available as they were destroyed. When defendants had closed their evidence in rebuttal, the plaintiff moved the present application for additional evidence by summoning the official from the Income Tax as well as from the Sales Tax offices to prove the fact about the submissions of the record/returns by the defendants before the said offices. The said application was contested on behalf of the defendants primarily on the ground that no such application was maintainable as on an earlier occasion also such an application for additional evidence was filed and was allowed vide order dated 4th Oct., 1988. The Trial Court allowed the said application vide impugned order.

(3.) Learned counsel for the defendants submitted that no second application for additional evidence was maintainable and secondly in view of Sec. 26 of the Punjab Sales Tax Act there was prohibition for producing of the record by the Sales Tax authorities. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the plaintiff-respondent submitted that the Trial Court has allowed to summon the record of the Income Tax as well as of the Sales Tax. There is no prohibition as regards the Income Tax Act but as regards prohibition under Sec. 26 of the Sales Tax Act the plaintiff only wants to prove the fact that the returns for the year 1982-83 and 1983-84 were filed by the defendants along with their accounts or not and not its contents.