United States Federal Trade Commission vs NIl. Writ Petition 13264/2020 decided on 23 November 2020.
Judgment Link: http://judgmenthck.kar.nic.in/judgmentsdsp/bitstream/123456789/349397/1/WP13264-20-23-11-2020.pdf
Relevant Paragraphs: 3(A) & (B) The basic law relating to accomplishment of “commissions issued by the foreign courts” is found in the provisions of Sec.78 r/w Rules 19 to 22 of Order XXVI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The aforementioned provisions of the Code which were originally enacted by Act 10 of 1932 have been re-framed in the 1976 amendment, for giving effect to the Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in Article 51 of the Constitution of India. The text of the aforesaid provisions of the Code are presumably enacted for giving effect inter alia to the intent of The Hague Convention to which both India and United States of America are parties; the Apex Court in SAFAI KARMACHARI ANDOLAN vs. UNION OF INDIA, (2014) 4 SCALE 165 has ruled that the International Covenants which have been ratified by India are binding to the extent they are not inconsistent with the provisions of the domestic law.
3(D). This Court does not see any repugnancy between the provisions of the said Convention and those of domestic law; conversely, they are complementary to each other; the Indian law read with the provisions of the said Convention empowers this Court to appoint a Commission to collect evidence from witnesses on the formal request of a Foreign Court before whom a proceeding of civil nature is pending. The structure of the petition prima facie shows that: (a) the subject District Court wishes to obtain evidence of witnesses whose names are mentioned in the Letter of Request, (b) the proceedings pending before the said Court are of a civil nature, and (c) the witnesses mentioned in this Petition and in the Letter of Request are within the jurisdictional limits & power of this Court.
Petition allowed.
Compiled by S. Basavaraj, Advocate, Daksha Legal
Daksha Legal 