Production of Document:
A person may be summoned to produce a document under Order XVI, Rule 6 of the CPC, and Section 162 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

It is thus evident that, firstly, the trial court should have taken steps to record the proceedings, and secondly, the trial court should have considered the true meaning of 'accident' in the context of the certificates. The controversy at hand was required to be decided in this manner.

Claim of Privilege:
In order to claim immunity from the disclosure of unpublished state documents, the documents must relate to affairs of state, and their disclosure must be against the interest of the state or public interest. To determine the question when a claim of privilege is made, the court must pose the following questions:

1. Whether the document in respect of which privilege is claimed is really an unpublished document relating to the affairs of the state?
2. Whether the disclosure of the contents of the document would be against public interest?
    

When any claim of privilege is made by the state in respect of any document, the question of whether the document belongs to the privileged class must first be decided by the court. The court cannot conduct an inquiry into the potential injury to public interest that may result from the disclosure of the document in question. The claim of immunity and privilege must be based on public interest.

The section does not specify who is to decide the preliminary question-whether the document relates to state affairs-or how it is to be decided, but guidance can be found in Section 162 of the Indian Evidence Act.

Under Section 162, a person summoned to produce a document is bound to bring it to court, notwithstanding any objections to its production or admissibility. The validity of any such objection shall be decided by the court. It further states that the court, if it sees fit, may inspect the document, unless it refers to matters of state, or take other evidence to determine its admissibility.

Written By: S Kundu & Associates
Email: [email protected], Ph No: +9051244073