Recall of witness to mark an earlier board resolution was justified; correcting an honest filing mistake is not filling a lacuna.

A request to recall PW-1 to mark a pre-existing board resolution referred to in the complaint documents could not be rejected as an attempt to fill up a lacuna. Where the party seeks to correct an earlier honest mistake in filing the wrong document, the lacuna doctrine does not bar production of the proper document. The opposing party still retains the right to challenge the document's admissibility, genuineness, and contents through cross-examination. On that basis, refusal to recall PW-1 was unjustified and permission to mark the board resolution was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the complainant should be permitted to recall PW-1 for marking a board resolution dated 27-6-1997, and whether refusal on the ground of filling up lacunae was justified.

Analysis: The document sought to be produced was stated to be a board resolution already referred to in the list of documents filed with the complaint, and it pre-dated the complaint. The refusal was founded on the premise that later production would amount to filling up lacunae, but that principle does not apply where an earlier honest mistake in filing the wrong document is sought to be corrected. The accused would still retain the opportunity to challenge the document and cross-examine PW-1 on its contents and genuineness.

Conclusion: The refusal to recall PW-1 was unjustified, and the application to mark the board resolution was rightly allowed.

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