Carbon copies of documents made by a uniform process are admissible as primary evidence under Explanation 2 to sec. 62 of the Indian Evidence Act.

Indu Prabha Singh, J.

1. This is an application filed u/s. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(in short the Code). It is directed against the order dated 3.6.2006 passed by Addl. Sessions Judge, IX, Muzaffarpur in S.T. No. 866 of 2005 by which the learned court below has admitted the carbon copies of the medical certificates as primary evidence and taken has (sic) the same into evidence.

2. From the facts of this case it would appear that before (sic) the learned court below the present petitioners who figured as accused had prayed that the original medical certificates may be called for alongwith an agreement with which for the present I am not concerned . The carbon copies of the medical certificates (Annexures 4 and 4/A) were on record. On behalf of the petitioners it was objected that the carbon copies were secondary piece of evidence and they should not be admitted unless the neccessary legal requirements are fulfilled. The learned court below has rejected this prayer of the petitioners am treating the carbon copies as primary evidence admitted the same into evidence. It is against this order that the present application has been filed.

3. The only question for consideration before me is whether the carbon copy of a document is a primary evidence of the same and whether it can be admitted into evidence without calling for the original and without complying with the legal provisions of sec. 65 of the Indian Evidence Act(in short the Act).

4. From the impugned order it appears that the learned court below has relied on explanation 2 of sec. 62 of the Act and on this ground he has treated the medical certificates as primary evidence. Leaned counsel for the petitioners has challenged this finding of the learned court below on the ground that they are secondary pieces of evidence which could not be admitted unless the requirement for the proof of secondary evidence are complied with. This is the moot question to be decided in this case.

5. On behalf of the petitioners a detailed written notes of argument has been filed in which mainly that emphasis has been put that these document (Annexures 4 am 4/A) are forged documents and they should not be admitted into evidence without proof of the original and without the examination of the Police Officer. It has also been contended that the Doctor also should have been examined before admitted Annexures 4 and 4/A into evidence. According to them they are false and fabricated documents which should not be relied upon.

6. I have perused the impugned order. The Learned Addl. Sessions Judge has held that the carbon copies of the medical certificates are admissible in evidence inasmuch as they have to be treated as primary evidence on the strength of explanation 2 to sec. 62 of the Act. As against it the petitioners have contended that as per this explanation where all the copies are from a common original they can not be treated to be a primary evidence or contents of the original.

7. In support of this contention learned Counsel for the petitioners has placed reliance on the case of Rameshwar Singh and Ors. V/s. State of Bihar 1986 PLJR (N.O.C.) 29. This is a Bench decision of this Court in which the carbon copy of the F.I.R. and copies of supporting evidence in tie station diary produced before the trial court were held to be in-admissible u/s. 65 of the Act since the original F.I.R, was not produced before to court. It was further held that in absence of proof of loss of original document a carbon copy can neither be relied nor can be taken into consideration and is thus liable to be ignored. On the strength of this decision the learned Counsel for the petitioners has submitted that since in the present case also the original documents were not produced their carbon copies can not be admitted into evidence in terms of explanation 2 to sec. 62 of the Act. In this decision reliance has been place on the case of the Roman Catholid Mission and Ors. V/s. The State of Madras a