Duty of defendant to produce documents upon which relief is claimed or relied upon by him
Full Text
(1) Where the defendant bases his defence upon a document or relies upon any document in his possession or power, in support of his defence or claim for set-off or counter-claim, he shall enter such document in a list, and shall produce it in Court when the written statement is presented by him and shall, at the same time, deliver the document and a copy thereof, to be filed with the written statement.
(2) Where any such document is not in the possession or power of the defendant, he shall, wherever possible, state in whose possession or power it is.
(3) A document which ought to be produced in Court by the defendant under this rule, but, is not so produced shall not, without the leave of the Court, be received in evidence on his behalf at the hearing of the suit.
(4) Nothing in this rule shall apply to documents—
(a) produced for the cross-examination of the plaintiff's witnesses, or
(b) handed over to a witness merely to refresh his memory.
Plain English Summary
Imposes a mandatory duty on the defendant to file all defense, set-off, or counter-claim documents along with the written statement, barring unfiled documents from evidence without prior leave of the court under sub-rule (3), while exempting cross-examination materials.
Key Legal Elements
- Simultaneous Document Production: All defense documents in defendant's custody must accompany the written statement.
- Custody Declaration (Sub-rule 2): Must disclose third-party custody if not in defendant's possession.
- Leave of Court Mandatory for Delayed Production (Sub-rule 3): Inadmissible in evidence without express formal leave and showing bona fide cause.
- Cross-Examination Carve-Out (Sub-rule 4): Documents deployed to impeach plaintiff witnesses or refresh memory are exempt from advance disclosure.
Practical Note
Courtroom Practice for Defendant's Documents: 1. Application for Leave under Sub-rule (3): 'Application on behalf of Defendant under Order VIII Rule 1A(3) read with Section 151 CPC for Leave to Place on Record Additional Defense Documents'. — Judicial Test: The court evaluates relevancy, authenticity, and why the document was not filed initially with the Written Statement (Sugandhi v. P. Rajkumar, 2020 SC). 2. Tactical Use in Cross-Examination (Sub-rule 4): — In Mohammed Abdul Wahid v. Nilofer (2023 SCC OnLine SC 1210), the Supreme Court held that the defendant can confront the plaintiff's witness in cross-examination with documents not produced with the written statement, preserving the vital element of surprise to expose falsehood.
हिंदी पाठ
(1) जहां प्रतिवादी अपनी प्रतिरक्षा किसी दस्तावेज पर आधारित करता है अथवा अपनी प्रतिरक्षा या मुजराई (Set-off) अथवा प्रतिदावे (Counter-claim) के दावे के समर्थन में अपने कब्जे या शक्ति में की किसी दस्तावेज पर निर्भर करता है, वहां वह ऐसी दस्तावेज को एक सूची में प्रविष्ट करेगा, और जब उसके द्वारा लिखित कथन प्रस्तुत किया जाता है तब उसे न्यायालय में प्रस्तुत करेगा और साथ ही लिखित कथन के साथ दाखिल करने के लिए दस्तावेज और उसकी एक प्रतिलिपि परिदत्त करेगा।
(2) जहां ऐसी कोई दस्तावेज प्रतिवादी के कब्जे या शक्ति में नहीं है, वहां वह जहां कहीं संभव हो, यह कथित करेगा कि वह किसके कब्जे या शक्ति में है।
(3) ऐसी दस्तावेज, जिसे इस नियम के अधीन प्रतिवादी द्वारा न्यायालय में प्रस्तुत किया जाना चाहिए था, किंतु इस प्रकार प्रस्तुत नहीं की गई है, वाद की सुनवाई के समय न्यायालय की इजाजत (Leave of the Court) के बिना उसकी ओर से साक्ष्य में ग्रहण नहीं की जाएगी।
(4) इस नियम की कोई भी बात उन दस्तावेजों को लागू नहीं होगी जो—(क) वादी के साक्षियों की प्रतिपरीक्षा (Cross-examination) के लिए प्रस्तुत की गई हैं, या (ख) साक्षी की स्मृति ताजा करने के लिए केवल उसे सौंपी गई हैं।