Order XXXIV - Hearing of the Suit
Order XXXIV governs the hearing of original suits before the Supreme Court of India, including the examination of witnesses, recording of testimony, the status of depositions and certified copies.
Meaning and scope of Order XXXIV
A hearing of the suit is the stage at which the Court considers the issues and evidence presented in an original civil suit. A deposition is the formal record of a witness's testimony. In this Order, the Code refers to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC). The provisions operate in the context of original suits before the Supreme Court and must be read with the Rules and applicable directions.
Order XXXIV - Complete rules and explanation
Rule 1 - Applicable provisions of Order XVIII
1. Rules 1, 2, 3, 16, 17 and 18 of Order XVIII in the First Schedule to the Code with respect to the hearing of suits and examination of witnesses shall apply in suits instituted before the Court.
Rules 1, 2, 3, 16, 17 and 18 of Order XVIII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 govern specified aspects of the hearing of original suits and the examination of witnesses. This incorporates the stated provisions of the CPC, not the whole of Order XVIII.
Rule 2 - Oral examination and recording
2. Witnesses in attendance shall be examined orally in open Court and their evidence taken down in shorthand in the form of question and answer by such officers of the Court as may be appointed for the purpose.
Witnesses attending the hearing are examined orally in open court. The appointed court officer records their evidence in shorthand in question-and-answer form.
Rule 3 - Transcript as deposition
3. The transcript of the shorthand note shall be signed by the officer recording the note and shall be deemed the deposition of the witness and shall form part of the record.
The recording officer signs the transcript of the shorthand notes. The signed transcript is treated as the witness's deposition and becomes part of the case record.
Rule 4 - Certified copies
4. The party to any suit or matter in which the evidence has been taken in shorthand, and the witness whose evidence has been taken, shall be entitled upon payment of the prescribed fee to be furnished with a certified copy of the handscript.
A party to the suit or matter, or the witness whose testimony was recorded, may obtain a certified copy on payment of the prescribed fee.
How the hearing procedure works
The applicable provisions of Order XVIII CPC address the right to begin, presentation of the case, production and examination of evidence, and recall or examination of witnesses as specified in Rule 1. Under the Supreme Court's special procedure, witnesses present are examined orally in open court and their evidence is recorded in question-and-answer form. The signed shorthand transcript is treated as the deposition and included in the judicial record. A certified copy may be requested by an eligible party or the witness on payment of the prescribed fee.
The text of Rule 4 uses the term handscript for the copy. The expression is retained above to preserve the wording of the supplied Rules.
Related legal provisions
Order XVIII, Rules 1, 2, 3, 16, 17 and 18 of the CPC are expressly incorporated by Rule 1 of Order XXXIV. Order XVIII broadly concerns hearing of the suit and examination of witnesses; however, only the specified rules are expressly applied by Order XXXIV.
Official references
Supreme Court of India - official website | India Code - Central legislation
This explanatory article should be read with the applicable text of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, subsequent amendments and Court directions.