The Rajasthan High Court recently quashed a trial court's decision that had closed a party's evidence due to delay in producing a witness, underscoring that "justice hurried is justice buried." The Court granted one final opportunity for evidence presentation, imposing a cost of ₹5,000 on the petitioner.
Justice Arun Monga passed this order while hearing a civil writ petition filed by Mahipal Singh challenging the trial court’s order dated September 3, 2022. The dispute stemmed from a civil suit filed by Kundan Mal, seeking ownership, possession, and mesne profits for two shops allegedly rented to the petitioner but not vacated even after notice.
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Mahipal Singh denied all allegations, claiming he was the rightful owner of the shops and never paid rent to the respondent. In support, he submitted an enquiry report from the Zila Parishad stating that no Patta was ever issued to the respondent. To back this document, he requested summoning of a Panchayat Officer, which was initially allowed by the trial court.
However, the witness was not produced due to being a government official on duty. Despite this, and even though a related writ petition was pending, the trial court proceeded to close the petitioner’s evidence, citing multiple chances already given.
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"It transpires that what weighed on the mind of the learned trial court was that granting of further opportunity to the petitioner would result in delay of the trial proceedings. No doubt, granting of opportunity would have resulted in delay, but the same could have been compensated by imposing cost," the High Court remarked.
The Court acknowledged that although delay can hinder justice, rushing through proceedings without complete evidence risks wrong conclusions.
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"While justice delayed is justice denied, at the same time, justice hurried is justice buried. Without proper evidence, the adjudication on the issues involved may result in erroneous findings,"
— Justice Arun Monga, Rajasthan High Court
Agreeing with the petitioner’s counsel, the Court found the trial court’s approach unjustified and granted one last chance to present the witness, with a clear warning that no further opportunity shall be granted.
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“In the interest of justice, one more opportunity ought to be granted to the petitioner, subject to payment of cost of ₹5,000. However, the learned trial court may adjourn the matter depending upon its work exigency,”
— Justice Arun Monga
With this, the writ petition was disposed of. All pending applications were also closed.
Case Title: Mahipal Singh v. Kundan Mal
