Conflicting handwriting expert opinions may justify independent forensic examination when disputed signatures and alterations cannot be resolved otherwise.

Conflicting handwriting expert opinions on the genuineness of signatures and alleged alterations in a disputed pronote and receipt justified independent forensic examination. Expert evidence on handwriting is relevant under the Evidence Act but is not binding on the court, and where rival reports are diametrically opposite, the court may seek an additional opinion to resolve the impasse. Although the court can compare handwriting under Section 73, it is not a handwriting expert and should not ordinarily decide disputed signatures by casual visual comparison when technical assessment is needed. The request to send the questioned documents to a government forensic laboratory was allowed and the order refusing that examination was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the application for sending the disputed pronote and receipt to a forensic laboratory for comparison should be allowed in view of conflicting handwriting expert opinions.

Analysis: The dispute concerned the genuineness of signatures and alleged alterations in the questioned documents. The Court noted that expert opinion on handwriting is relevant under the Evidence Act, but such opinion is not binding on the Court. Where rival expert reports are diametrically opposite, the Court may seek an independent opinion to resolve the stalemate. The Court also observed that while it can compare handwriting under Section 73, it is not a handwriting expert and ordinarily should not decide disputed signatures on a casual visual comparison when technical expertise is required. In the peculiar facts, and since the parties did not oppose an independent examination, a government forensic agency's opinion was considered necessary to assist the trial court.

Conclusion: The application for sending the questioned documents to the SFSL or CFSL for examination was allowed and the impugned order rejecting that request was set aside.

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