Under Order XIII Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, when can a court reject a document that has already been marked as an exhibit at trial?
Coram: Sanjay Karol; Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh
Only where the document is prima facie inadmissible in law or irrelevant to the properties or matters in issue in the suit. An objection that merely questions the weight or genuineness of an already-marked document does not meet this threshold and must be examined later, not used to exclude the document at this stage.
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XIII Rule 3 — Rejection of documents — Marking as exhibit not proof of contents — Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XIII Rule 3 — Threshold rejection of documents — Held: A document already marked and exhibited during trial cannot be rejected at the threshold under Order XIII Rule 3 CPC unless it is prima facie inadmissible in law or irrelevant to the matters in issue; an objection that goes only to its evidentiary weight must be examined at the final hearing, not screened out midway. (¶9) Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — Proof of documents — Marking as exhibit distinct from proof of contents — Held further: Marking a document as an exhibit, even without objection, only records its production; it does not amount to proof of its contents, which must still be established through primary or secondary evidence in accordance with law. (¶11) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XIII Rule 3 — Objections on admissibility to be decided at final judgment — Held further: Following the deferred-objection procedure for evidence-stage disputes, an objection to admissibility should ordinarily be noted and the document tentatively marked, leaving the court to rule on admissibility only while deciding the case finally; premature exclusion at the threshold defeats this object. Appeal dismissed. (¶10, 13)
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