NEHRU BARAIK Vs. GANESHWARI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard counsel for the parties.

(2.) The petitioners in this writ application under Article 227 of the Constitution of India have prayed for quashing the orders passed by the Munsif, Latehar in Title Suit No. 9 of 2003 commencing from the order dated 14.07.2004, further by the order dated 29.07.2004 and the order dated 12.08.2004, whereby the petitioners/plaintiffs prayer for exhibiting the documents on record, was rejected only on the ground that the plaintiffs have already availed three adjournments, no further adjournment can be granted to them as per the provisions of Order XVII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(3.) Counsel for the petitioners explains that the petitioners/plaintiffs had filed the title suit before the court below and along with the plaint had also filed the documents, including the Jamindari receipts etc. which are more than 30 years old. Though the documents were already on record, but since the witnesses could not turn up on the dates fixed for plaintiff's evidence and due to lack of proper legal advice, the documents could not be adduced in evidence by the plaintiffs. Later, by a petition filed on 14.07.2004 followed by similar petitions filed on the other two dates also, the petitioners had regularly prayed to the trial court to mark the documents on evidence without insisting on formal proof on the ground that the documents were 30 years old and do not require to be formally proved as per provisions under the Evidence Act.