Local investigation under CPC is not a substitute for party evidence; commissioner appointment was set aside where easement was the real dispute.

A commission for local investigation under Order 26 Rule 9 CPC is justified only when the nature of the dispute makes spot inspection necessary for proper adjudication; it cannot be used to gather evidence that the parties themselves can adduce. Where the suit plot's identification and location are undisputed and the real controversy concerns an easementary right, the party asserting that right must lead its own evidence. The High Court held that appointing a Civil Court Commissioner at that stage was unnecessary and set aside the direction, noting that any request for local investigation could be considered later, after evidence was closed, if still required for decision of the lis.

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Issues: Whether an order appointing a Civil Court Commissioner for local investigation under Order 26 Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 was justified when the suit plot's identification and location were not in dispute and the controversy related to an easementary right.

Analysis: Local investigation under Order 26 Rule 9 is intended to assist the Court where the matter, by its peculiar nature, cannot be properly adjudicated without spot inspection; it is not meant to collect evidence that can be adduced by the parties. Where the location of the property is undisputed and the real controversy concerns the existence of an easementary right, the party asserting that right may lead evidence to prove it. Appointment of a commissioner at that stage was therefore unnecessary, and the request for local investigation ought to have been deferred until the evidence was closed, if still required for a proper adjudication.

Conclusion: The direction appointing the Survey Knowing Commissioner was unjustified and was set aside in favour of the petitioner.

Final Conclusion: Local investigation cannot be ordered as a substitute for party evidence when the dispute is capable of determination on the evidence already to be led, and such a commission should be used only when it is truly necessary for resolving the lis.

Ratio Decidendi: A commission for local investigation under Order 26 Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is not to be used for gathering evidence that parties can otherwise adduce, and it is warranted only where the nature of the dispute makes spot investigation necessary for proper adjudication.

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