Section 138 in Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996
138. Issue of commission.
(1)The Chairman of a Panchayati Adalat may issue commission to a member of the Panchayati Adalat or to a member of any other Panchayati Adalat in whose jurisdiction the witness resides for the examination of any witness if he considers that the examination of the witness is necessary in the ends of the justice and that the attendance of such witness cannot be procured without any amount of delay, expanse or inconvenience which under the circumstances of the case would be unreasonable.(2)The member of the Panchayati Adalat receiving the commission shall proceed to the place where the witness is or shall summon the witness before him and shall take down his evidence in the same manner as that of a witness and may for this purpose exercise as the powers of a Panchayati Adalat.(3)The parties to the case in which a commission is issued may respectively submit any interrogatories in writing, which the Chairman directing the commission may think relevant to the issue, and he shall forward such interrogatories along with the commission and the member of the Panchayati Adalat to whom the commission is directed or to whom the duty of executing such commission has been delegated shall examine the witness upon such interrogatories.(4)Any such party may appear such member either personally or through any friend or relation who has been duly authorised in this behalf and may examine, cross-examine, as the case may be, the said witness.(5)After a commission has been duly executed it shall be returned together with the deposition of the witness examined thereunder to the Chairman, who issued it. The deposition shall be open at all reasonable times to inspection of the parties and may, subject to all exceptions, be ready in evidence in the case by either party and shall form part of the record.In every case in which a commission is issued the proceedings may be adjourned for a specified time reasonably sufficient for the execution and return of the commission.(6)Any order for the issue of a commission for the examination of a witness may be made by the Panchayati Adalat or a Bench thereof either of its own motion or on the application of any party to the case of the witness to be examined.(7)Before issuing a commission, the Panchayati Adalat or a Bench thereof may order such sum, if any, as it thinks reasonable for the expenses of the commission, to be paid to it by the party at whose instance or for whose benefit the commission is issued within such time as may be fixed.
