Writ petition against a Special Court order dismissing a plea for admission of secondary evidence. Court held that certified copies are admissible under Section 65(f), leaving relevance and admissibility issues for trial.
Special Court directed to receive certified copies of documents subject to relevancy, admissibility and proof.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K.C.BHANU AND HON'BLE SMT JUSTICE ANIS
WRIT PETITION No.18632 of 2014
O R D E R: (per Hon’ble Sri Justice K.C. Bhanu)
This petition is filed challenging the order, dated 19.03.2014, passed by the Special Court under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982, (for short ‘the Special Court’), in I.A.No.750 of 2013 in L.G.C.No.9 of 2011.
2. The petition in I.A.No.750 of 2013 was filed on behalf of the petitioners in L.G.C, seeking the leave of the Court to permit to receive the certified copies of the documents by way of secondary evidence. The said petition was dismissed by imposing exemplary costs of Rs.3,000/-, on the ground that the proposed respondent Nos.5 to 12 if added as parties, they would produce the registered sale deeds and therefore, it is not legal to mark the certified copies of the documents filed by the petitioners in the above L.G.C. Challenging the same, the present Writ Petition is filed.
3. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners contended that the properties covered by the certified copies of the sale deeds have been sold by the petitioners and therefore, the originals of those documents are not available with the petitioners and therefore, the order of the Special Court, dismissing the petition is liable to be set aside.
4. Under Section 65(f) of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, when the original is a document of which a certified copy is permitted by this Act, or by any other law in force in India, it can be given in
evidence and certified copy of the document is admissible. So, dismissing the petition at the threshold is contrary to the provisions of the Act. The relevancy, admissibility and proof of the document can be decided during the course of trial. To what extent the certified copies of the sale deeds filed by the petitioners are relevant, has to be decided in the main L.G.C. Therefore, we are of the view that the impugned order is liable to be set aside and accordingly, the petition filed by the petitioner in I.A.No.750 of 2013 in L.G.C.No.9 of 2011 is allowed. The Special Court is requested to receive the documents subject to their relevancy, admissibility and proof.
5. With the above observation, the Writ Petition is allowed. No order as to costs. Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this Writ Petition, shall stand closed.
______________________ JUSTICE K.C.BHANU
_______ JUSTICE ANIS
Date: 12.08.2014 sr
1 issue framed by the court
Whether certified copies of sale deeds are admissible as secondary evidence under Section 65(f) of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
2 provisions across 2 enactments
Petitioner
Sri Justice K.C. Bhanu
Smt Justice Anis
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
