This is a civil revision petition filed under Article 227 of Constitution of India. It is filed by the defendant in O.S. No.2053 of 2003 on the file of the Court of the Principal Junior Civil Judge, Ranga Reddy District at L.B. Nagar, Hyderabad. The suit is filed for injunction simpliciter by the respondents herein. Along with the written statement, it appears, the petitioner filed a sale deed dated 24-5-1995. The same was however not marked as an exhibit in the evidence. The petitioner, therefore, filed an application being I.A. No.387 of 2006 under Order XIII Rule 7(2) of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908(CPC). He prayed for return of the sale deed and certified copy of the General Power of Attorney dated 24-6-1991. He stated in the affidavit accompanying the said application that he requires the documents to avail bank loan. This application was opposed. Taking a view that unless and until the suit is disposed of, the request of the petitioner for return of the documents cannot be accepted, the trial Court dismissed the application. This is challenged as one vitiated by grave error apparent on the face of record.

2. Learned Counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on sub-rule (2) of Rule 7 of Order XIII of CPC in support of the contention that the documents not admitted in evidence can be returned to the person producing the same. Per contra, the learned Counsel for the respondents/plaintiffs opposed the civil revision petition. He would urge that as the petitioner desires to raise bank loan by creating a charge on the property, he is not entitled for return of the documents.

3. A short but interesting question that requires an answer is whether a document not admitted in evidence and which does not form part of the record can be returned before conclusion of the suit to the party who produced such document.

4. It is needless to point out that every party to the suit has required to produced all the documents relied on as evidence - (i) At the stage of presenting pleadings (see Order VII Rule 14 and Order VIII Rule lA of CPC); (ii) At the stage of trial on or before settlement of the issues; and (iii) During the trial during the cross-examination. It is however not necessary for the trial Court to mark all the documents produced by the parties to the suit. Only such documents admissible in evidence, which are properly stamped and registered (if necessary), can be received as evidence and marked as exhibits. Only those documents, which are admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits, form part of the Court record. All other documents either generated by the registry of the Court during the process of the suit or during the proceedings - like copies of the summons, notices and other administrative forms; and the documents produced by the parties to the suit, which are not admitted in evidence and which are not marked as exhibits, do not form part of the record. It is only such documents including the original copies of the plaint, written statement, the documents admitted in evidence, proceedings of the Court and office copies of the orders of the Court, which form part of the record. This record has to be retained by the Court till the matter is finally disposed of. No purpose would be served by retaining the documents, which are not admitted in evidence. This is made clear by Rule 9 of Order XIII, which reads as

under:

9. Return of admitted documents: -(1) Any person, whether a party to the suit or not, desirous of receiving back any document produced by him in the suit and placed on the record shall, unless the document is impounded under Rule 8, be entitled to receive back the same,

(a) where the suit is one in which an appeal is not allowed, when the suit has been disposed of, and

(b) where the suit is one in which an appeal is allowed, when the Court is satisfied that the time for preferring an appeal has elapsed and that no appeal has been preferred or, if an appeal has been preferred, when the appeal has been d