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Madhya Pradesh High Court · body

2014 DIGILAW 464 (MP)

Nisha v. Lal Singh

2014-04-25

SUJOY PAUL

body2014
Judgment: This petition is filed by the petitioners/plaintiffs feeling dissatisfied with para 32 of the deposition wherein the Court below permitted the defendant to exhibit the document. 2. In the instant civil Suit the defendant produced a document Annexure P-2. The defendant intended to mark this document as exhibit. The prayer was opposed by the petitioners/plaintiffs on the ground that it is neither registered, nor properly stamped. The Court below in para 32 (page 16) opined that the stand of the defendant is that the document Annexure P-2 is only a receipt. It is further opined that by the said document no right accrued in favour of anybody. It is at best a receipt ('likhtam') and hence it can be marked as exhibit. Accordingly, it was permitted to be marked as Ex.D-11. 3. Assailing this finding of the Court, Shri Rajendra Jain, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the said document needs to be registered and properly stamped as per Section 35 of The Indian Stamp Act, 1899. 4. The prayer is opposed by Shri Sanjay Mishra, learned counsel for respondents No. 1 to 3. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties on the aforesaid aspect. 6. A bare perusal of the finding of Court below makes it clear that Court below has only examined whether the said document is an instrument or not. The finding is that no right accrued in favour of anybody by this document. However, Section 35 deals with various kinds of documents including instrument, receipts, contract, agreement etc. The Court below has only examined the document by examining whether it is an instrument or not. The Court below has not examined the document in the light of Section 35 (b) and (c). Thus, the Court below has not examined the document Annexure P-2 on the anvil of Section 35 (b) and (c). Thus, the order suffers from procedural impropriety. 7. Resultantly, the matter is remitted back to the Court below to hear the parties on the question of admissibility of document Annexure P-2 again and pass a reasoned order in accordance with law. It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion on merits. It is also made clear that Court below shall pass fresh order in accordance with law without getting influence by its earlier order. 8. Petition is allowed to the extent indicated above.