JUDGMENT

G.R. Swaminathan, J.—”Were you not once prosecuted and punished?”-to this blunt question during cross-examination, the witness tried to give an explanation. He was cut short with a firm “Say, yes or no”. The poor witness meekly replied “yes sir”. The cross examining counsel after a few more questions sat down with a victorious smirk. The other side counsel was alert and with the leave of the court to re-examine his witness, put a question “can you tell the Hon’ble Court as to why you were prosecuted and what was the punishment you received?”. The witness explained with a sense of relief “I was charged for a traffic violation and paid a small amount as fine”.

2. This story highlights the importance of re-examination. If the counsel had failed to elicit this explanation, the judge would have carried an impression that the witness is an ex-convict. Failure to reexamine a witness can sometimes turn out to be fatal. The case on hand is a good illustration.

3. This second appeal arises out of a suit for specific performance of the sale agreement dated 25.02.2006 entered into between the plaintiff (K.Rajendran) and the first defendant (G.Amsavalli). The appellant purchased the su