TMI Blog1960 (9) TMI 96X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n Lal and others in the Court of the Additional Munsif, Ghaziabad, for money on the basis of promissory notes executed by the defendants in his favour. The defendants apprehending that the plaintiff would fabricate his books of account with respect to payments made by them, applied for the seizure of the account books of the plaintiff. The Additional Munsif, by his order dated March 27, 1954, appointed Sri Raghubir Pershad, Vakil, Commissioner to seize those books of account. The Commissioner accordingly seized those books and brought them to Ghaziabad. The appellants were convicted by the Special Judge under s. 165-A of the Indian Penal Code for having offered bribe to the Commissioner for being allowed an opportunity to tamper with tho ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... issioner for seizing the books of account, Sri Raghubir Pershad would be deemed to be a public servant in view of Explanation 2 to s. 21 of the Indian Penal Code because he was in actual possession of the situation of a public servant for he acted as Commissioner and was recognized as such by the appellants and others connected with the civil suit. Section 75 of the Code empowers the Court to issue a commission, subject to conditions and limitations which may be prescribed, for four purposes, viz., for examining any person, for making a local investigation, for examining or adjusting accounts and for making a partition. Order XXVI lays down rules relating to the issue of commissions and allied matters. Mr. Chatterjee, learned counsel for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for determination is whether the impugned order of the Additional Munsif appointing Sri Raghubir Pershad Commissioner for seizing the plaintiff s books of account can be said to be an order which is passed by the Court in the exercise of its inherent powers. The inherent powers saved by s. 151 of the Code are with respect to the procedure to be followed by the Court in deciding the cause before it. These powers are not powers over the substantive rights which any litigant possesses. Specific powers have to be conferred on the Courts for passing such orders which would affect such rights of a party. Such powers cannot come within the scope of inherent powers of the Court in the matters of procedure, which powers have their source in the Cour ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in Court. The defendants request really amounted to the Court s collecting documentary evidence which the defendants considered to be in their favour at that point of time. it is no business of the Court to collect evidence for a party or even to protect the rival party from the evil consequences of making forged entries in those ac. count books. If the plaintiff does forge entries and uses forged entries as evidence in the case, the defendants would have ample opportunity to dispute those entries and to prove them forgeries. We are therefore of opinion that the Additional Munsif bad DO inherent power to pass the order appointing a Commissioner to seize the plaintiff s account books. The order appointing Sri Raghubir Pershad as Commiss ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of any property which is the subject-matter of such suit or as to which any question may arise therein. The account books of the plaintiffs were not property which were the subject-matter of the suit nor such that about them a question could arise in the suit. The account books could, at best, have been piece of evidence, if the plaintiff or the defendant had cared to rely on them. We therefore hold that the Additional Munsif had no power under the Code to appoint the Commissioner for seizing the plaintiff s books of account. Lastly it was urged for the State that even if the appointment of Sri Raghubir Pershad as Commissioner was null and void as the Additional Munsif had no jurisdiction to appoint a Commissioner for seizing the ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion would be office . Office again, according to the same Dictionary, means a special duty, trust, charge or position, conferred by an exercise of governmental authority and for a public purpose ; a position of trust or authority conferred by an act of governmental power ; a right to exercise a public function or employment and receive the emoluments (if any) thereto belonging; as, an executive or judicial office.......... In a wider sense, any position or place in the employment of the government, especially one of trust or authority. The Dictionary further notes the differences in the con. notations of the various words office, post, appointment, situation and place and says: Office commonly suggests a position of (especially public) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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