K. Mallesh v. K. Narender
Background
In a civil suit that was still being tried, a dispute arose over whether two documents could be admitted as evidence. The High Court interfered with the trial court's interim order on that question, and the appellant came to the Supreme Court against the High Court's order.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order. It held that the High Court should not have interfered at a stage when the trial was still in progress, and decided the appeals without going into the merits of the suit. The Court said that the admissibility, reliability and registrability of the documents will be considered only at the hearing of the trial, and all those questions remain open. The appeals were allowed with no order as to costs.
Lesson Learnt
A ruling on whether a piece of evidence can be used is normally made by the trial court when the evidence is heard. Challenging such an interim ruling in a higher court in the middle of the trial is usually premature.