Law: Specific Relief Act (I of 1877)

Section: 12

Law: Qanun-e-Shahadat (10 of 1984)

Section: 17,72,79

Law: Civil Procedure Code (V of 1908)

Section: 115

(a)    Specific Relief Act (I of 1877)-------S.12---Qanun-e-Shahadat (10 of 1984), Arts.17, 72 & 79---Agreement to sell---Execution, proof of---Requirement of production of two attesting witnesses--Evidentiary value of evidence of scribe produced as attesting witness of agreement to sell---Scope---Suit filed by the petitioner was dismissed on the ground that he failed to produce both the marginal witnesses in proof of agreement to sell---Judgment and decree passed by Trial Court was maintained by Appellate Court---Validity---Under Art.79 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984, a document which is required by law to be attested, cannot be used as evidence until "two attesting witnesses", at least, are called for the purpose of proving its execution, if there be two attesting witnesses alive and subject to the process of the court and capable of giving evidence---Omission or oversight of not calling one attesting witness is detrimental and adversative to the admissibility of the document---Attestation and execution of a document both have distinct characteristics, as execution of document attributes signing in presence of attesting witnesses including all requisite formalities which may be necessary to render the document valid, while the fundamental and elemental condition of valid attestation is that two or more witnesses have signed the instrument/deed and each of them has signed the instruments in presence of the executants---This stringent condition mentioned in Art.79 of Qanun-e-Shahadat is uncompromising---Provision of Art.79 Qanun-e-Shahadat is mandatory and noncompliance thereof will render the document inadmissible in evidence---Scribe of a document can only be a competent witness in terms of Arts. 17 &79 of Qanun-e-Shahadat, if he has fixed his signature as an attesting witness of the document and not otherwise; his signing the document in the capacity of a writer does not fulfil and meet the mandatory requirement of attestation by him separately, however, he may be examined by the concerned party for the corroboration of the evidence of the marginal witnesses, or in the eventualities conceived by Art.79 of Qanun-e-Shahadat itself…