Documentary proof of sales defeats sham transaction and duress claims when signed invoices and statutory forms are admitted.

Commercial invoices, debit notes and ST-1 forms signed by the buyer's authorised representative, and admitted by the buyer's witness, were sufficient to prove the sales and corresponding liability. A bare plea that the transactions were sham, fraudulent or executed under duress could not succeed without complaint or independent evidence, because the party alleging fraud or duress bore the burden of proof and failed to discharge it. The documentary record, maintained in the ordinary course of business and supported by the dealer registration scheme under Delhi sales tax law, established genuineness of the transactions and justified recovery on the money claim with interest.

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Issues: Whether the plaintiff proved the disputed invoices, debit notes and ST-1 forms and whether the defendants discharged the burden of establishing that the transactions were fictitious, fraudulent or obtained under duress.

Analysis: The invoices, debit notes and ST-1 forms were stamped and signed by the defendants' authorised representatives, and the defendants' own witness admitted signatures on those documents. The claim that the documents were executed under duress was unsupported by any complaint or independent evidence. The documents were maintained in the ordinary course of business and were sufficient to establish the sales and the corresponding liability. The defendants, having alleged that the transactions were sham and fraudulent, carried the burden of proving that plea and failed to do so. The appellant's registration as a dealer and the statutory scheme permitting deduction on sales to a registered dealer under the Delhi sales tax law also supported the genuineness of the transactions.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the plaintiff. The transactions were held to be genuine and the defence of fraud, fictitious billing and duress was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The High Court's reversal of the trial court was set aside and the plaintiff's money claim was restored with interest.

Ratio Decidendi: Where commercial invoices and statutory declaration forms are admitted or proved by signatures of the buyer's authorised representative, a plea that the underlying sales were sham or executed under duress must be proved by the party alleging it, and failure to do so permits recovery on the basis of the documentary record.

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