It is well established by now that prior to deciding the main lis, a court or forum is bound to decide the miscellaneous application(s).

Case Laws December 05, 2024

This Court is cognizant of the fact that it is optional for the Court either to accede to the request of a party for expert opinion in a matter or not but the said discretion cannot be used to permit a forum to decide the main case without taking decision on the miscellaneous application. Further, the justification given by the learned counsel for the respondents for non-decision of the application, filed by his clients for comparison of thumb impressions of the donors, does not appeal to reason inasmuch as the intention of the Court to permit or decline a party to get compared signatures/thumb impressions of a person on a document can be gathered from its order but inaction on its part to decide a miscellaneous application prior to decision in the main case, cannot be used to believe that the said forum was not willing to refer the matter for expert opinion.

Order XIV CPC casts heavy duty upon the court to firstly determine points of dispute between the parties and then to move for recording their evidence. It is of common knowledge that the parties are supposed to lead evidence to support or oppose a fact put before them in the shape of formal Issues but in absence of material Issue on a particular point, it cannot be believed that the party concerned was aware about the exact nature of the dispute regarding which he had to lead evidence.