Section 49 in Standing Order No. 2 Of The Financial Commissioner Himachal Pradesh
49. Examination of witnesses identifying documents.
- There are certain points which the court should bear in mind when the signature or attestation of a document is sought to be proved.Before a witness is allowed to identify a document, he should ordinarily be made, by proper questioning, to state the grounds of the knowledge with regard to it for instance, in he is about to speak to the act of signature, he should first be made to explain concisely the occurrences which led to his being present when the document was signed; and if he is about to recognise a signature on the strength of his knowledge of the supposed signer's handwriting, he should first be made to state the mode in which this knowledge was acquired. This should be done by the party who seeks to prove the document, it is the duty of the Court, in the event of a witness professing ability to recognise or identify handwriting, always to take care that his capacity to do so is thus tested, unless the opposite party admits it.
