PROP. GANGA GINNING AND PRESSING FACTORY OWNER VAIBHAV CHANDRAKANT KOTALWAR v. NANDU GANGARAM WADJE
Procedural Requirement to Exhibit Admitted Documents - Distinguishing Between Identification for Evidence and Final Proof of Contents Under the Indian Evidence Act and Code of Civil Procedure.
Court: Bombay High Court
Citation: 2026:BHC-AUG:14429
Decision Date: 02-04-2026
List of Laws
The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; The Indian Evidence Act, 1872; Constitution of India, Article 227; Principles of Admissibility and Proof of Documents
- Facts: The petitioner filed a civil suit seeking a declaration of ownership and perpetual injunction regarding two agricultural lands. The petitioner's title was based on a chain of transfers originating from the respondent, who had executed two registered sale deeds in 1997 and 1998 in favor of one Khandu Undade. In his written statement and counterclaim, the respondent admitted the execution and registration of these sale deeds but contended they were intended to be "loan transactions" rather than absolute sales. During the trial, the petitioner was granted permission to lead secondary evidence (certified copies) of these sale deeds under Section 65 of the Indian Evidence Act. Subsequently, the petitioner moved an application (Exh.113) to mark these documents with identification/exhibit numbers. The Trial Court rejected this application, ruling that the petitioner must first prove the documents by examining witnesses or scribes, as the respondent had not specifically "admitted" the sale deeds in the context of their evidentiary truthfulness.
- Procedural Posture: The petitioner challenged the Trial Court's order dated April 5, 2023, by filing a Writ Petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India before the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench).
- Issue: Whether a Trial Court is bound to mark a document with an identification or exhibit number when its execution and existence are admitted by the opposing party in their pleadings, even if the contents and nature of the transaction are disputed?
- Holding: Yes. The High Court held that once there is an admission of execution of a document by a party, there is no hindrance in exhibiting such document; the Trial Court was bound to give it an identification number at the first instance.
- Reasoning: The Court reasoned that "exhibiting" a document is primarily for identification and convenience during the evidentiary process and does not "ipso facto" mean the document is proved. Admissibility and proof are distinct legal stages. Under Section 70 of the Indian Evidence Act, the admission of a party to an attested document is sufficient proof of execution against him. Since the respondent unequivocally admitted signing and registering the deeds in his pleadings, those were "admitted facts" which, per the rules of evidence, need not be proved. The Court noted that while the respondent could still challenge the "object" or "contents" of the deeds during the trial, the Trial Court's refusal to even mark the documents was perverse and a failure to properly exercise jurisdiction. Registered documents carry a strong presumptive value, and the burden of rebutting that presumption lies on the party challenging it.
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