respondent had stepped into the witness box as PW-2 and tendered a sworn affidavit Ex.PW-2/A affirming the averments made in the plaint on oath to the effect that the defendant-appellant had borrowed a total sum of Rs. 3 lacs on 11.5.2005 by executing three pronotes of Rs.1 lac each in favour of the plaintiff-respondent in the presence of witnesses. The plaintiffrespondent had also examined PW-1, Subhash Kumar, Scribe of the pronotes and receipts, who has also testified on the same lines. The Scribe Subhash Kumar further testified that the appellant-defendant had signed on the pronotes and receipts after admitting the contents to be correct and proved such pronotes/receipts as Ex.P-1 to P-6. Furthermore, PW-1 also proved on record copy of his register i.e. the Scribes Register as Ex.P-7, wherein entries had been duly made at Sr. Nos. 94 to 96 and the signatures of the defendant-appellant Gurmail Kaur duly appeared thereupon. On the other hand the defendant-appellant appeared as DW-1 and took up the plea of simple denial. During her cross-examination the defendant-appellant claimed to be illiterate and stated that she did not even know how to sign. The defendant-appellant also laid a claim that she could only thumb mark and was not capable of appending her signatures. As such, there was a denial on her part as regards her signatures on the pronotes and receipts at Ex.P-1 to P-6. On the other hand, the first appellate court has taken note of the fact that the defendant-appellant had admitted her signatures on the written statement dated 4.8.2008 but at the same time denied her signatures on the Power of Attorney and went to the extent of denying her signatures on the affidavit Ex. DW-1/A, given by her in the court as per of her statement on oath. The testimony of the defendant-appellant by the court below as such has been held to be totally unreliable.
