The main legal principle established in the judgment is that the court has the power to receive documents at subsequent stages of the hearing if they are relevant to the matter in issue and for doing justice between the parties.

( 1 ) PETITIONERS are the plaintiffs in O. S. No. 686/97 on the file of City Civil Judge, Court Hall No. 7, Bangalore. The plaintiffs filed the above suit for the relief of partition and separate possession of the suit schedule property. The respondents herein are defendants in the said suit. They have contested the claim of the plaintiffs. Issues were framed. Plaintiffs. They have adduced evidence and closed their side. On behalf of the defendants, one witness was examined as DW-1. Thereafter, affidavit of second witness for the defendants has been filed by way of examination in chief. Along with the affidavit in the examination in chief, an application is filed under Section 151 of CPC requesting the court to permit the defendants to produce some documents which they wanted to mark in the course of evidence of DW-2. The said application was opposed by the plaintiffs. Learned trial Judge after considering the rival contentions has allowed the said application for production of documents. Aggrieved by the said order the petitioners have referred this writ petition.

( 2 ) LEARNED counsel for the petitioners contends, as is seen from the order the court explanation for the delay Below finding that the production of the has recorded a categorical in documents appears to be not proper but still the court has proceeded to allow production of said documents and as such the impugned order is liable to be quashed. He further contends, legislature in its wisdom has omitted Order 13 Rule 2 CPC while amending the Civil procedure Code in the year 1999 and 2002 and in its place Order 8 Rule 1a has been introduced making it mandatory for the defendants to produce all the documents on which they rely on along with the written statement and only in exceptional cases with the leave of the court documents can be produced. When the court below is not convinced about the reason given for delay for production, it could not have condoned the delay and granted leave to the defendants to produce documents merely because it has power to do so under Order 8 Rule 1a. Therefore, he submits the impugned order is liable to be quashed.

( 3 ) PER contra, learned counsel appearing for the respondents contend, if the documents are not produced along with the written statement, the defendants are precluded from producing the documents as a matter at right but the owner of the court to receive such documents is not taken away. Proviso to Order 18 Rule 4 CPC provides for filing of documents along with affidavit and therefore the intention of the legislature in bringing out this amendment is not to prevent documents being produced after the stage of filing of written statement is over. Therefore; he submits that on harmonious construction of these amended provision court has the power to receive documents produced subsequent to the filing of the written statement and even in the absence of any good cause being shown for the delay in production if the court is satisfied that the said documents are necessary for proper determination of the controversy between the parties, the Court could receive the same.

( 4 ) THEREFORE the points that arise for consideration are as under: (1) Whether the court has no power to receive documents which are filed subsequent to filing of the plaint, written statement unless a good cause is shown for in production of the delay said documents. (2) What is the law, after amendment by Central Act No. 46 of 1999 and No. 22 of 2002, in far as production so document in civil proceedings.

( 5 ) IN of order to answer these points it is necessary to have a look at the relevant provisions in the Civil Procedure Code before amendment subsequent to amendment.

( 6 ) THE first provision which dealt production of to amendment prior documents contained in Order VII Rule 14. Production of document on which plaintiff sues - (1) Where a plaintiff sues upon a document in his is possession or power, he shall produce it in Court when the plaint is presented.

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