Evidence of defendant, which is beyond pleadings, has to be rejected even in absence of any cross-examination.
This judgment however is of no help to the defendant because if the defendant putforth a case not pleaded by her and about which there is no whisper in her written statement, it is not incumbent and necessary upon the plaintiff to cross-examine the witness in that regard. The plaintiff can simply point out that the evidence of the defendant, which is beyond the pleadings and beyond the issue, should be disregarded. Therefore, even if it is accepted for the sake of arguments that there is no cross-examination of the defendant about the novation to the agreement which she tried to prove through her evidence (as discussed above), then it does not mean that the plaintiff admitted and accepted her evidence. That evidence of the defendant, which is beyond the pleadings, has to be rejected even in the absence of any cross-examination.
Bombay High Court
Haren Krishnakumar Mehta vs Kamla Pribhdas Nebhanani on 11 October, 2000
Equivalent citations: AIR 2001 Bom 187, 2001 (2) BomCR 678, (2001) 1 BOMLR 228
D. G. Deshpande, J.- https://www.lawweb.in/2013/09/evidence-of-defendant-which-is-beyond.html
