- (1.) THIS writ petition has been filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India by the defendant Shri Pustimargiya tritiya Peeth Pranyas Shri Dwarkadheesh mandir, Kankroli against the order of the learned trial Court dated 31-5-2007 whereby the learned trial Court while rejecting the application of the plaintiff to tape record the cross-examination of the defendant witnesses, however, directed the defendants witnesses to be produced in the Court for recording of their sample voice to match it with the voice recorded during the course of plaintiffs' witness by the Court in the form of tape recorded voice and to obtain the expert's opinion thereon.
(2.) SINCE the case pertains to a suit for specific performance based on an oral agreement, the plaintiff produced tape recording of the conversation between the plaintiff and the defendant on issue No. 1 about existence of oral agreement between the parties. The application filed by the plaintiff was considered by the trial Court at the stage when the plaintiffs evidence was closed and the defendant's witnesses had produced their affidavits in defence on which cross-examination was to take place. The learned trial cburt rejected the said application of the plaintiff on the ground that there was no provision in the Civil Procedure Code for recording of the evidence of the defendant's witnesses or their cross-examination and in the absence of any such provision such application could not be allowed. However, the learned trial Court felt that since the plaintiff had produced a tape recorded version in the course of plaintiffs evidence and for matching that voice it was considered expedient that the defendant's witnesses may be directed to get their sample voice recorded at the cost of plaintiff in the presence of an expert who may give his opinion in the matter.
(3.) BEING aggrieved by the said direction of the learned trial Court, the defendants have filed the aforesaid writ petition in this court challenging the said directions in the impugned order of the learned trial Court.;