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"10. As observed above at the preliminary stage of hearing on the application the court is required to decide whether the applicant should be allowed to interrogate the other side, but is not to determine what question should the opposite party be compelled to answer. Interrogatories may then be served on the other party for his answer to that on affidavit. The party, who has been served with Interrogatories, will then answer the Interrogatories on affidavit or raise objections about the relevancy or they being of scandalous nature, irrelevant, not bona fide, or not to be answered on the ground of privilege etc., in answer. The court then may consider and dispose of the Interrogatories. It will not for the court at this stage of granting leave to consider what particular questions the party interrogated should be compelled to answer. Proper time for considering that question is after the party interrogated has filed its affidavit in answer."
7. .......... The question between the parties is thus of accounts. The queries/questions with respect to such accounts are best answered by delivery of interrogatories. If such queries, were to be made in cross examination, the witness/plaintiff may not be in a position to answer the same immediately, for non availability of requisite material. The same would result either in the cross examination being deferred leading to delays and costs or to evasive answers. On the contrary, interrogatories can be answered by the party at its leisure and after perusing all records available at its office/residence and also by making enquiries, if any, necessary from its other staff members in know of the matter. Answers to the interrogatories will also lead to reduction in the time taken by the court in recording cross examination and help in crystallizing the cross examination."
"20. The Court is not, at this stage, to examine as to what would be the impact of the answer of the interrogatories. The Court, at the stage of administration of interrogatories, has to only consider whether the answer to the interrogatories would have some bearings on the issues involved in the case and as to whether they relate to any matter in question to the suit. The law with regard to the interrogatories is well settled.
24. When the interrogatories proposed to be administered are examined in the light of the above referred legal propositions, it is clear that answer to the interrogatories may have the effect of shortening the litigation."

21. When examined in the light of parameters laid down in the aforesaid judgments, clearly, the Trial Court has misdirected itself in rejecting the application filed by the petitioner under Order XI Rule 1 of the CPC. While deciding the said application under Order XI Rule 1 of the CPC, the Trial Court had to only consider whether answer to the said interrogatories would have some bearing on the issues involved in the case and whether the same could be necessary for fair adjudication of the dispute. The very object of the interrogatories is to know the case of the opposite party and to, therefore, shorten the trial and limit the scope of the cross-examination. The Courts should be liberal and should not be hyper-technical in allowing the use of interrogatories in a suit. Interrogatories also enable a party to obtain an admission from the opponent, which reduces the scope of trial and the cost of litigation for the parties. Once the Court comes to the conclusion that the interrogatories are relevant for proper adjudication of the case, the interrogatories are served upon the other party and the said other party has to answer the interrogatories on affidavit or objections can be raised on the ground that the said interrogatories are scandalous in nature or are not relevant or not bona fide for the purposes of the suit or on the ground of privilege. The objections on the grounds above have to be taken on affidavit. It is at that stage that the Court has to consider which of the questions in the interrogatories the party should be compelled to answer.