Taher Fakhruddin Saheb Alias ... vs Mufaddal Burhanuddin Saifuddin
2023 Latest Caselaw 3346 Bom

                                                                                       1-S-337-2014.DOC




                       Shephali




                            IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                   ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
                                                     SUIT NO. 337 OF 2014


                       Taher Fakhruddin Saheb alias Taherbhai K                               ...Plaintiff
                       Qutbuddin alias Taherbhai Qutbuddin
                             Versus
                       Mufaddal Burhanuddin Saifuddin                                     ...Defendant


                       Mr Anand Desai, Advocate, with Chirag Mody, Nausher Kohli,
                            Samit Shukla, Saloni Shah & Shivani Khanwilkar, i/b DSK
                            Legal, for the Plaintiff.
                       Mr Janak Dwarkadas, Senior Advocate, FE DeVitre, Senior
                            Advocate, Mr Pankaj Savant, Senior Advocate, Firdosh
                            Pooniwalla, Senior Advocate, with Azmin Irani, Abeezar
                            Faizullabhoy, Shahen Pradhan, Murtaza Kachwalla, Jehaan
                            Mehta, Ammar Faizullabhoy, Chirag Kamdar, Juzer Shakir,
SHEPHALI                    Jaisha Sabavala & Musafa Maimoon, i/b Argus Partners, for the
SANJAY
MORMARE                     Defendant.
Digitally signed by
SHEPHALI
SANJAY
MORMARE
Date: 2023.04.05
09:57:39 +0530
                                                     CORAM: G.S. PATEL, J
                                                     DATED:     3rd April 2023
                       PC:-

                       1.

Mr DeVitre tenders three certificates under Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act. These are taken on record. These are to be filed in the Registry. Similarly, the Plaintiff has produced his

3rd April 2023

1-S-337-2014.DOC

certificates under Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act. These are to be filed in the Registry as well.

2. A few other directions are now necessary since the final hearing will close on 5th April 2023. Since the final hearing began, I have received notes of arguments throughout. Some questions have arisen during the course of the hearing today which will require Mr Desai to put in a supplemental note. This is permitted by 15th April 2023. So is a final note by Mr DeVitre responding to the Plaintiff's note analysing the Defendant's defence.

3. For convenience, and so that there is no error, complete sets in both PDF and .docx formats are to be submitted by each side by 15th April 2023. No hard copies are to be filed.

4. A question arises about the treatment for the record of these notes of arguments. They have not been tendered in physical form. In fact, the entire hearing has been held with soft copies. There is no reason to insist that hard copies should be filed with accompanying affidavits because this is after all the final hearing of suit after trial. At no time have I regarded these notes of arguments as anything but an aide memoire during final arguments. They are no sense pleadings and there is no question of 'admission by non traverse'. Indeed, I have not permitted a paragraph by paragraph "traverse" of the written notes of arguments. I have used these notes as a convenience to compress to the extent possible the time required. Despite all appearances to contrary this has worked, because if it was otherwise, the detailing that has gone to the notes would have

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1-S-337-2014.DOC

required a far more prolonged hearing. At the same time, both sides submit that it would be necessary for further stages to have these notes of evidence form part of the Court's record so that they may be referenced later, if necessary.

5. I propose therefore, to release, at the time of pronouncement of judgment, a supplemental volume compiling the notes submitted by both sides. How these will be arranged (opening notes, replies, rejoinders etc) is yet to be decided, but these notes will almost certainly have to be referenced in the judgment itself, perhaps even by paragraph number. The separate supplemental hard copy compilation will be for the assistance and reference of counsel and, inevitably, an appellate court. For reasons that are self-evident, these notes of written arguments will not be uploaded and will not form a part of the judgment per se.

6. The written notes refer to and cite judgments and authorities at various places. A separate compilation of the judgments of each side is required in PDF format, properly paged, indexed, bookmarked, and hyperlinked. The compilation of judgments will not necessarily be part of the supplemental volume containing the notes of arguments.

(G. S. Patel, J)

3rd April 2023