Documents
Who may produce documents. – Documents may be produced in court-
(i) by parties,
(ii) by persons, other than parties; and
(iii) on requisition issued by the court.
Translation to be filed with certain documents. – Every document produced by a party or his witness not written in Hindi, or English shall be accompanied by a correct translation of the document into Hindi written in the Devanagri script. The translation shall bear a certificate of the party’s lawyer to the effect that the translation is correct. If the party is not represented by a lawyer, the court shall have the translation certified by any person appointed by it in this behalf at the cost of the party concerned.
Opposite – party to record admission or denial on documents – A party desiring to produce any document in court shall, before producing it in court, obtain admission or denial recorded on the back of the document by the opposite-party’s lawyer. If the opposite-party is not represented by a lawyer, the court shall get admission or denial recorded by the party in its presence and may, for the purpose, examine the party.
List to accompany all documents whensoever filed. – The list of documents required by Order VII, Rule 14 and Order XIII, Rule 1, shall be in form (Part IV-71) and no document, whensoever produced, shall be received unless accompanied by the said form duly filled up. In the case of a document produced by a witness or person summoned to produce a document the form shall be supplied by the party at whose instance the document was produced. The list as well as the documents shall be immediately entered in the general index.
Statement about erasures and additions. – Whenever any private document, other than a registered document or certified copy containing erasures, additions or interlineations is produced by a party to a case, it shall be accompanied by a statement clearly describing each such erasures, addition or interlineation, and signed by such party. Reference to such statement shall be made in the list form (Part IV-71) with which the paper is filed.
Small documents and document of historic value – Small documents when filed in court shall be filed, pasted on a paper equal to the size of the record, and the margin of the paper should be stitched to the file so that no part of the document is concealed by the stitching. If a document contains writing both on the front and the back, it should be kept in a separate cover which should be stitched to the file at the proper place leaving the main document untouched.
Note – Care should be exercised dealing with documents of historic or antiquarian value as directed in Q. L. No. 2970/180-2(1) of 1917, dated 31-3-1917.
Affidavit to accompany an application for production of public record. – When a party requires the production of a public record, the application shall, unless the court otherwise directs, be accompanied by an affidavit showing how the party requiring the record has satisfied himself that it is material to the suit and why a certified copy of the document cannot be produced or will not serve the purpose.
Documents for production of which sanction of head of department is necessary. – When a court decides that in the interests of justice it is necessary that it should have before it a document which cannot be produced without the sanction of the head of the department concerned, it shall in its order asking for such document set out as clearly as possible (a) the facts, for the proof of which the production of the document is sought; (b) the exact portion or portions of the document required as evidence of the facts sought to be proved. The court summoning the document shall fix a date for its production, which should not be less than three weeks from the date of issue of summons.
Registers from Sub-registrar’s office – (1) A summons for the production of any register or book belonging to the office of a Sub-registrar shall be addressed to the District Registrar and not direct to the Sub-registrar.
(2) Production of documents in police custody. – A summons for the production of documents in the custody of the police should be addressed to the Superintendent of Police concerned, and not to the Inspector-General.
(3) Production of Municipal and District Board Records. – When duly authenticated and certified copies of documents in the possession of Municipal and District Boards are admissible in evidence, the court shall not send for original records unless, after perusal of copies filed, the court is satisfied that the production of the original is absolutely necessary.
(4) Post office records not to be unnecessarily disclosed. – When any journal or other record of a post office is produced in court, the court shall not permit any portion of such journal or records to be disclosed, Other than the portion or portions which seems to the court necessary for the determination of the case then before it.
Settlement Records – When a court requires the production of any Settlement Record in which the Settlement Officer acted in a judicial capacity, it shall be summoned in the manner provided by Order XIII, Rule 10. In other cases the procedure prescribed in Order XVI, Rule 6, shall be followed. The summons to produce such documents shall be issued to the Collector/Deputy Commissioner, who may send the document by messenger or registered post.
Payment of postage fee, etc. – The payment of postage and registration fees, or of travelling and other expenses for messengers, incurred in the transmission of, or requisition of records, shall be governed by the provisions of these rules and shall be paid ordinarily by the party at whose instance the expense is incurred.
Covers of documents received by registered post to be retained. – When a documents of any kind connected with a judicial case is received under a registered cover, the cover shall not be destroyed, but shall be attached to the file of proceedings in the case to which the document refers.
Documents produced, how to be dealt with. – All documents produced must be received by the court and must be dealt with in one or other of the following ways, viz.,-
(a) returned,
(b) placed on the record; or
(c) impounded.
Duty of Court upon production of documents. – The Court shall inspect and consider all documents as soon as practicable after they have been produced and dealt with them as follow :-
(a) Documents which are proved (or admitted by the party against whom they are produced in evidence) shall be admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits in the manner prescribed in Rule 57 and the fact shall be noted in the record.
(b) Documents which are not proved (or admitted by the party against whom they are produced in evidence) shall be kept on the record pending proof and shall be rejected at the close of the evidence, if not proved or admitted.
(c) Documents that are found to be irrelevant or otherwise inadmissible in evidence shall be rejected forthwith.
Note. – No document unless admitted in evidence shall be marked as an exhibit.
Admission of genuineness not to be confused with admission of truth of contents. – (1) When a certified copy of any private document is produced in court, inquiry shall be made from the opposite-party whether he admits, that it is a true and correct copy of the documents which he also admits, or whether it is a true and correct copy of the document which he denies, or whether it is true and correct copy of the document the genuineness of which he admits without admitting the truth of its contents, or whether he denies the correctness of the copy as well as of the document itself.
Admission of the genuineness of a document is not to be confused with the admission of the truth of its contents or with the admission that such document is relevant or sufficient to prove any alleged fact.
(2) A Sessions Clerk who fails to furnish security as required by the preceding sub-rule shall not be allowed to hold that post and also other posts of equivalent status.
Explanation. – Posts of Suits Clerk, Execution Clerk, Appeals Clerk and Readers of the Courts of Judge, Small Causes, Civil Judge and Munsif shall, for purposes of this rule, be deemed to be in status equivalent to that of a Sessions Clerk.
Proper expression about admissions of documents. – Admission of a document by a party shall be indicated by the endorsement, “Admitted by the plaintiff” or “Admitted by the defendant”. Admission of a document in evidence by the Court shall be indicated by the endorsement “admitted in evidence”. If any question is raised as to the correctness of a copy and the correctness of it is admitted, the endorsement shall be “correctness of copy admitted”. The use of the expression “Admitted as a copy” in endorsement on document is prohibited.
Endorsement on documents in suits compromised or dismissed for default. – Documents filed in suits which are dismissed for default or compromise shall, before being dealt within the manner provided in Rules 59 and 60, be endorsed with the particulars mentioned in Order XIII, Rule 4(1) and the result of the suit.
Marking of documents
(1) Documents produced by a plaintiff and duly admitted in evidence shall be marked with a number, and documents produced by a defendant shall be marked with a number and the letter ‘A’, or, where there are more than one set of defendants, by the letter ‘A’ for the first set of defendants, by the letter ‘B’ for the second, and so on. Where a document is produced by order of the court and is not produced by any party, the serial number shall be prefaced by the words “Court Exhibit” or an abbreviation of the same.
(2) Where a document is produced by a witness at the instance of a party, the number of the witness shall be endorsed thereon, e.g., Ex. (1) F.W. 1, if it is produced by the plaintiffs first witness, and Ex. A-/D.W., if it is produced by the defendant’s first witness.
(3) The party at whose instance a document is produced by a witness shall deposit the cost of the preparation of a certified copy of that document before it is placed on the record. The office shall then prepare a certified copy and keep it with the original document. If the witness wants to take back his document it shall be returned to him unless there are special reasons for keeping the original on the record :
Provided that a certified copy shall not be necessary where the document is written in a language other than Hindi or English, and a translation has been filed as prescribed by Rule 41.
(4) Every exhibit-mark shall be initialled and dated by the Judge.
Marking of documents. – Where a number of documents of the same nature are admitted, as for example, a series of receipts for rent, the whole series should bear one figure or capital letter or letters, a small figure or letter in brackets being added to distinguish each paper of the series.
Return of unproved documents. – A document which is rejected as irrelevant or otherwise inadmissible under Order XIII, Rule 3, or is not proved shall, unless impounded under Order XIII, Rule 8, or rendered wholly void or useless by force of the decree, be returned to the person producing it or to his pleader, and such person or pleader shall give a receipt for the same in column 4 of list (Form Part IV-71).
Retention of impounded and certain other documents. – (1) Documents impounded shall be dealt with in accordance with Order XIII, Rule 8 and the word “impounded” should be noted in red ink across columns 3-5 of the list (Form Fart IV-71) against the entries relating to such documents in the said list.
(2) Should either party or his pleader entitled to receive a document, under rules, be absent or for good cause unwilling to receive it, it shall be marked “not part of the record”, a note of the same being made in column 5 of the list (Form Part IV-71).
(3) A document, which is the basis of a suit or defence, or the proof of which is discussed in the judgment and which is ultimately held to be not proved, shall be entered in the General Index and shall not be returned to the party, not marked “not part of the record”.
Care of impounded documents – No document which the Court has ordered to be impounded or which is required by law to be filed and preserved (for instance a will under Section 294 of Act XXXIX of 1925) shall be allowed to pass out of the custody of the Court, and no document produced for the purpose of comparison of signature, writing or seal shall be returned within the periods specified in Order XIII, Rule 9 (1) (b). With reference to Order XIII, Rule 9 (1) (b) an interval of 4 months shall ordinarily be allowed to intervene from the date of decree before the documents, whether original or copies, filed in a case are returned to the parties who produced them.
Return of documents. – A general notice shall be posted in a conspicuous part of every Court-house, giving warning that all documents filed in any suit or proceeding which may legally be returned, must be withdrawn as soon as the decree or order made, in the suit or proceeding has become final or after four months of the decree or order, whichever is longer, and that if they are not so withdrawn, they will remain at the risk of the persons concerned.
Books of business. – If a document be an entry in a letter book, a shop book, or other account in current use or an entry in a public record, produced from a public office or by a public officer, a copy of the entry, certified in the manner required by law, shall be substituted on the record before the book, account or record is returned, and the necessary endorsement should be made thereon, as required by Order XIII, Rule 5.
Adopted and modified from General Rules (Civil), 1957[UP]
