IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
Battu Devanand, J.
Manda Srinivasa Rao - Petitioner
Versus
Undavalli Satyavathi – Respondent
Civil Revision Petition No.940 of 2022
Decided On : 04-07-2022
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 - Section 45 - Civil Revision Petition - Challenging order - Seeking to send suit promissory note - Respondent/plaintiff filed O.S. for recovery of an amount of Rs.1,88,334/- with subsequent interest @ Rs.2/- per month per hundred from date of plaint till date of realization on principal amount of Rs.11,00,000/- under promissory note – Held, trial Court observed that since petitioner who had taken a plea that signature over promissory note is not that of his signature, it is forged and fabricated one, burden is on petitioner to establish same and when petitioner failed to file documents as required by F.S.L as such, petitioner is not entitled to relief sought in present petition to send documents to another expert at Hyderabad - Court is not having any difference opinion than trial Court expressed with regard to sending documents to another expert at Hyderabad as and when petitioner failed to file documents required by expert (i.e.) F.S.L., this Court did not find any reasons to interfere into order passed by trial Court - Civil Revision Petition dismissed
ORDER :
This Civil Revision Petition has been filed challenging the order, dated 10.03.2022 in I.A.No.403 of 2021 in O.S.No.23 of 2016 on the file of the VIII Additional District Judge, West Godavari District, Eluru, whereby the learned VIII Additional District Judge, West Godavari District, Eluru, dismissed the petition filed under Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act.
2. Heard Sri. Kambhampati Ramesh Babu, learned counsel for the petitioner/defendant and Sri. A.V.V.S.N. Murthy, learned counsel for the respondent/plaintiff and perused the material available on record.
3. The Petitioner herein is the Defendant and the Respondent herein is the Plaintiff in O.S.No.23 of 2016 on the file of the VIII Additional District Judge, West Godavari District, Eluru.
4. The respondent/plaintiff filed O.S.No.23 of 2016 before the VIII Additional District Judge, West Godavari District, Eluru for recovery of an amount of Rs.1,88,334/- with subsequent interest @ Rs.2/- per month per hundred from the date of plaint till the date of realization on principal amount of Rs.11,00,000/- under the promissory note, dated 09.01.2013.
5. The petitioner/defendant filed written statement denying the debt and specifically stating that the signature on the promissory note was absolutely not his signature.
6. In order to prove that the signature on the suit promissory note is not of the petitioner, he filed a petition in I.A.No.739 of 2019 in O.S.No.23 of 2016 under Section 45 of Evidence Act, seeking to send the suit promissory note, dated 09.01.2013 to the Government Hand Writing Expert at FSL, Vijayawada along with admitted signatures for comparison and to file report for better adjudication of dispute. The said application was allowed by order, dated 07.01.2020 directing to send Ex.A.1 promissory note, dated 09.01.2013 to handwriting expert, A.P.F.S.L. for comparison with admitted signature of the petitioner for opinion and report. The Director, A.P.F.S.L., Mangalagiri sent a report, dated 13.02.2020 requesting to retransmit along with extensive admitted Telugu signatures of the petitioner around the period 2013 for the purpose of comparison.
7. The petitioner filed another application in I.A.No.403 of 2021 in O.S.No.23 of 2016 with a prayer to send the signatures of the petitioner obtained in the open Court and the suit promissory note to C.F.S.L., Amberpet, Ramanthapur, Hyderabad or Truth Labs Forensic Sciences, 402, Aporva Towers, Road No.2, Behind Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hyderabad, for comparison. The said application was dismissed by order, dated 10.03.2022. Aggrieved by the same, the present Civil Revision Petition has been filed.
8. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the Court below grievously erred in holding that there is no use to send contemporary English signatures of the petitioner to the expert with a request to compare with the questioned signature which is in Telugu. The learned counsel contends that the Court below failed to consider the specific plea of the petitioner that he never put his signature in Telugu vernacular at any point of time and it is not possible to file the documents sought by the expert in the earlier round. The learned counsel further submits that the petitioner ought to have provided opportunity to prove that the signature on the Ex.A.1 is forged by allowing the petition.
9. This Court seriously considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner and order, dated 10.03.2022 in I.A.No.403 of 2021 in O.S.No.23 of 2016 passed by the trial Court. It is an admitted fact that the trial Court had earlier sent the suit promissory note and the document which contained standard signature of the petitioner to the F.S.L., Amaravati. But, the F.S.L., Amaravati returned the documents requiring contemporary signatures of the petitioner in Telugu. The trial Court opined that when an expert asked for contemporary signatures, it is the duty of the petitioner at whose instance the documents were sent to the F.S.L.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of expert opinions on identity of handwriting and the comparison of signatures, as provided under Section 45 and Section 73 of the I....
The discretion of the court to seek expert opinion on disputed signatures is upheld, regardless of time gaps between signatures on different documents.
The Court held that there is no time limit for filing applications under Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act and that the decision to refer documents for expert opinion is left to the discretion of....
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