The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement of voluntary production of the instrument by the party alone, and the absence of powers in N.C.T. of Delhi to compel production of an original document from a party to impound the same.

MANMOHAN SINGH, J.

1. By this common order, I shall disposed of the above mentioned 17 petitions in which similar issue is involved.

2. In these petitions, the petitioner has filed Civil Miscellaneous (Main) petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India against the orders dated 3rd November, 2010, 18th December, 2010, 28th January, 2011 and 4th February, 2011 as passed by Sh.Surinder S.Rathi, Additional District Judge, Tis Hazari, Delhi in Civil Suit No.73/2010 entitled “Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. Vs. Yogesh Baweja”.

3. The petitioner i.e. M/s. Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited is a corporate body incorporated and registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and carrying its business of banking under Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and is having its registered office at 36-38A, Nirman Bhawan, 227, Nariman Point, Mumbai-400021 and inter alia Branch office at G-9, Vikas Puri, New Delhi.

4. The respondents in the matters are the borrowers who had taken the loan from Respondent No.2 ICICI Bank and against whom various suits for recovery have been filed and are pending adjudication before the learned trial courts.

5. As mentioned earlier, by the present petitions the petitioner challenges the order(s) dated 3rd November, 2010, 18th December, 2010, 28th January, 2011 and 4th February, 2011 whereby the learned trial court has been issuing directions to the petitioner and compelling the petitioner to produce the original Deeds of Assignment. The learned trial court has also issued bailable warrants against the chairman of the petitioner Bank to enforce its direction to produce the original deed of assignment so as to enable the learned trial court to impound the same.

6. It is argued by petitioner that the aforesaid order directing coercive measures and forcing the plaintiff to produce the original document is perverse, illegal and against the established provisions of law. The learned trial court while considering the applications for substitution compelled the petitioner to produce documents in a suit for recovery thereby giving a complete go by to the process laid down in law and forced the petitioner to produce the documents and even issued bailable warrants against the chairman of the petitioner bank with the direction to the Police Commissioner to execute the same.

7. The respondent No.2/ICICI Bank by way of Assignment Deed, assigned all its rights, titles, interests in the NPA in favour of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited i.e. Petitioner Bank. The copy of the Deeds of Assignment dated 31st December, 2007 are filed. The learned trial court vide order dated 3rd November, 2010 directed the petitioner bank to produce the original assignment deeds. The request was made by petitioner before the learned trial court that the application be adjudicated upon in the absence of the original and on the basis of a copy of the same which was already on record. But learned trial court instead of taking a view on the application/suit, vide order dated 18th December, 2010 issued direction to Chairman of the petitioner Bank to produce and file the original assignment deed and also expressed its opinion and recorded that there may be necessity of impounding the same under Section 33 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899.

8. As no original deeds of assignment could be produced by the petitioner, the learned trial court vide order dated 28th January, 2011 issued notice of Proclamation against the chairman of the petitioner bank, Sh. Uday Kotak and further by order dated 4th February, 2011 issued bailable warrant against Sh. Uday Kotak to the tune of Rs.50,000/- with one surety of the like amount.

9. Section 33 of the Stamp Act, 1899 which relates to impounding of the documents is applicable only when the original document is actually and voluntarily brought before the court of law. Further contrary to forcing any party to produce the original document it is only when the document chargeable is produced or comes in the performance of the working that the same ca