Cross-examination rights depend on adverse interest; defendants supporting the plaintiff's case cannot demand cross-examination as of right.

The statutory right of cross-examination under Section 137 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 is available only to an adverse party. Where defendants filed a written statement supporting the plaintiff's claim, accepted the accounts, and sought a decree as prayed for, they lacked any adverse interest and could not insist on cross-examining the plaintiff. Permitting cross-examination in such circumstances served no statutory purpose and amounted to an improper exercise of jurisdiction. The court therefore set aside the order allowing cross-examination and held that the defendants had no such right.

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Issues: Whether defendants who had filed a written statement supporting the plaintiff's claim and taking a stand consistent with a decree in favour of the plaintiff had any right to cross-examine the plaintiff.

Analysis: The right of cross-examination under Section 137 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 belongs to the adverse party. Where defendants have aligned themselves with the plaintiff's case and have accepted the accounts and asked for a decree as prayed for, they cannot be said to have an interest adverse to the plaintiff. In such a situation, allowing them to cross-examine would serve no statutory purpose and would only expose the plaintiff to avoidable harassment. The order of the court below permitting cross-examination despite the absence of an adverse interest was therefore an improper exercise of jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The defendants had no right to cross-examine the plaintiff, and the order permitting them to do so was set aside in favour of the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: The statutory right of cross-examination under Section 137 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 is available only to a party whose interest is adverse to the witness, and a party supporting the witness's case cannot be permitted to cross-examine him as of right.

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