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Mahaboosa Begum & Ors. v. Tamil Nadu Wakf Board & Anr.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8298 of 2015)Decided 6 Oct 2015
Civil Appeal No. 8298 of 2015
Justice Anil R. Dave · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

A civil dispute involving a Wakf Board and a sale of property was pending in the trial court. During the trial the parties objected to the examination of witnesses and to the production of documents, and the High Court intervened by setting aside the sale. The appellants then came to the Supreme Court against that High Court order.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court should not have objected to the examination of witnesses and the production of documents at that stage of the trial. It said that the parties remain free to raise all their legal contentions and to produce the documents that should have been produced before the trial court. It set aside the impugned High Court order, vacated the interim relief the Supreme Court had earlier granted, and directed the trial court to conclude the trial as early as possible, with the parties to appear on 2 November 2015. The appeal was allowed with no order as to costs. The order does not separately address the sale, and reads as setting aside the impugned order only.

Lesson Learnt

Higher courts generally do not stop evidence midway through a trial; objections to witnesses or documents are normally to be raised and decided by the trial court itself. Litigants should expect the trial court to hear the evidence first, and then decide the merits.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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