Law: Evidence Act (I of 1872)

Section: 35

Evidence-Letters are not evidence of facts stated in them.   Letters are not evidence of the facts stated. It is only a statement made by a person in the witness-box that is an evidence unless the case falls under some clause of section 32 of the Evidence Act, 1872.     Date of hearing : 24-11-58.   JUDGMENT   On 29th May 1952 there was an agreement between the defendant-applicant and the plaintiff-opponent relating to the supply of 6 tons of round bars. The plaintiff-opponent is what is called an indentor i.e., a commission agent who books orders for 'the purchase of goods from abroad. The contracts with the indentors are entered into after the indentors obtain the consent of the suppliers of foreign countries. The contract between the parties in the present case contains a clause, as such contracts usually do, that the defendant-applicant will open a letter of credit in the country from which the goods are to be purchased in order to cover the risk incurred by the suppliers in sending the goods to Pakistan. This letter of credit was not in fact opened by the defendant-applicant. The opponent served a notice on the applicant saying that the suppliers had themselves purchased the goods which were to be supplied to the applicant but as the letter of credit had not been opened they were forced to sell the same goods in the market and they suffered thereby a loss of . 220-0-0 which the applicant should pay. The applicant having failed to pay the suit out of which this revision application arises was filed in the Court of Small Causes, Karachi. The applicant raised various pleas one of which alone is now necessary to refer to. It was that there was no purchase or sale by the alleged suppliers…