Plaintiff is entitled to reserve right to adduce evidence by way of rebuttal after completion of evidence on her side and before commencement of evidence for defendant.

( 1 ) THIS Civil Revision petition give s rise to an interesting question of law relating to the interpretation of the scope and application of the provisions of Order 18, Rule 3 C. P C. The plaintiff petitioner filed O S. No - 12 of 65 on the file of the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Visakhapatnam, for declaration of her title and for possession of the suit properties, which is resisted by the sole defendant on leveral grounds. The trial Court has framed several issurs. The burden is on the plaintiff with regard to all the issues except issues Nos 8 and 9 with regard to which the burden is on the defendant. After the completion of the examination of the plaintiff s witnesses, a memo by her counsel reserving her right to adducerebuttal evidence fur the evidence that will be adduced by the defendant on issues Nos. 8 and 9, was filed on 24-11 -66. The defendant resisted the claim of the plaintiff to reserve her right to adduc rebuttal evidence at that stage. as being belated, as she should have, according to him, made that claim before she began to let in evidence in the beginning. The lower Court, upholding the objection raised by defendant, rejected plaintiff s memo as unacceptable. Aggrieved by that order, plaintiff preferred this revision petition. Mr, A. S Prakasam, for the plaintiff, contends that the provisions of Order 18, Rule 3 C. P. C. do not bar the plaintiff s claim to reseive her right to adduce evidence by way of rebuttal before the commencement of the evidence for the defendant and after the completion of evidence for the plaintiff. Mr. Mangu Venkata Rao, for the respondent, contended contra. The point for determination is whether plaintiff is entitled to reserve her right to adduce evidence by way of rebuttal after the completion of evidence on her side and before the commencement of evidence for the defendant. For a proper appreciation of the point at issue, it is necessary and relevant at this stage to consider the provisions of Order, 18, Rule 3 C. P. C. , which read thus:-"where there are several issues, the burden of proving some of which lies on the other party,the party beginning may at his option either produce his evidence on those issues or reserve it by way of answer to the evidence produced by the other party; and in the latter eae, the party beginning may produce evidence on those issues after the other party has produced all his evidence, and the other party may then reply specially on the evidence so produced by the party beginning; but the party beginning will then be entitled to reply genesaly on the whole case. "order 18, Rule 3 C. P. C. entitled the party beginning to adduce evidence, either to adduce his evidence or reserve it by way of rebuttal to the evidence adduced by the other side on the issues, where the burden lies on the other party, and the party beginning will then be entitled to reply generally on the whole case. In other words, the expression "party beginning" will have to be read with the words Party having the right to begin" in rule 2. In this case, admittedly it is the plaintiff that has to begin her evidence on the issues where the burden admittedly lies on her. As regards issues Nos:- 8 and 9, where ad. mittedly the burden is on the defendant, it is the defendant that has to lead evidence in so far as those issues are concerned, and the plaintiff will certainly have a right to adduce evidence by way of the rebuttal,but to acquire that right of adducing evidence by way of rebuttal, the plaintiff should conform strictly with the provisions of Order 18, Rule 3 C. P. C. She had to express her rescrva. tidn to adduce evidence by way of rebuttal. but the pertinent question that arises in this case is as to at what stage or when exactly the plaintiff has to exercise the option given to her under Order, 18, Rule 3 C. P. C. whether it is before the commencement of the plaintiff s evidence as contended by the defendant s counsel, or after the completion of the evide