Text of ORDER 16, RULE 1-21

ORDER XVI :  SUMMONING AND ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES

RULE 1: Summons to attend to give evidence or produce documents.
(1) Not later than seven days after the settlement of issues, the parties shall present in Court a [certificate of readiness to produce evidence, along with a] list of witnesses whom they propose to call or produce either to give evidence or to produce documents.
(2) A party shall not be permitted to call or produce witnesses other than those contained in the said list, except with the permission of the Court and after showing good cause for the omission of the said witnesses from the list; and the Court grants such permission, it shall record reasons for so doing.
(3) On application to the Court or such officer as it appoints in this behalf, the parties may obtain summons for persons whose attendance is required in Court:
Provided that no summons shall be issued for service on a person under rule 8 unless an application in that behalf is made not later than fourteen days prior to the date fixed for the hearing of the suit and the necessary expenses for the summoning of such person are deposited.

RULE 2: Expenses of witness to be paid into Court on applying for summons.
(1) The party applying for a summons shall, before the summons is granted and within a period to be fixed, pay into Court such a sum of money as appears to the Court to be sufficient to defray the travelling and other expenses of the person summoned in passing to and from the Court in which he is required to attend, and for one day's attendance.
(2) Experts. In determining the amount payable under this rule, the Court may, in the case of any person summoned to give evidence as an expert, allow reasonable remuneration for the time occupied both in giving evidence and in performing any work of an expert character necessary for the case.
(3) Scale of expenses. Where the Court is subordinate to a High Court, regard shall be had, in fixing the scale of such expenses, to any rules made in that behalf.

RULE 3: Tender of expenses to witness.
The sum so paid into Court shall be tendered to the person summoned, at the time of serving the summons, if it can be served personally.

RULE 4: Procedure where insufficient sum paid in.
(1) Where it appears to the Court or to such officer as it appoints in this behalf that the sum paid into Court is not sufficient to cover such expenses or reasonable remuneration, the Court may direct such further sum to be paid to the person summoned as appears to be necessary on that account, and, in case of default in payment, may order such sum to be levied by attachment and sale of the moveable property of the party obtaining the summons; or the Court may discharge the person summoned, without requiring him to give evidence; or may both order such levy and discharge such person as aforesaid.
(2) Expenses of witness detained more than one day. Where it is necessary to detain the person summoned for a longer period than one day, the Court may, from time to time, order the party at whose instance he was summoned to pay into Court such sum as is sufficient to defray the expenses of his detention for such further period, and, in default of such deposit being made, may order such sum to be levied by attachment and sale of the movable property of such party; or the Court may discharge the person summoned without requiring him to give evidence; or may both order such levy and discharge such person as aforesaid.

RULE 5: Time, place and purpose of attendance to be specified in summons.
Every summons for the attendance of a person to give evidence or to produce a document shall specify the time and place at which he is required to attend, and also whether his attendance is required for the purpose of giving evidence or to produce a document, or for both purposes; and any particular document which the person summoned is called on to produce, shall be described in the summons with reasonable accuracy.

RULE 6: Summons to produce document.
Any person may be summoned to produce a document, without being summoned to give evidence; and any person summoned merely to produce a document shall be deemed to have complied with the summons if he causes such document to be produced instead of attending personally to produce the same.

RULE 7: Power to require persons present in Court to give evidence or produce document.
Any person present in Court may be required by the Court to give evidence or to produce any document then and there in his possession or power.

RULE 7A: Service of summons by parties.
(1) Except where it appears to the Court that a summons under this Order should be served by the Court in the same manner as a summons to a defendant, the Court shall make over for service all summons under this Order to the party applying therefore.
(2) The service shall be effected by or on behalf of such party by delivering or tendering to the witness in person a copy thereof signed by the Judge or such officer as he appoints in this behalf and sealed with the seal of the Court.
(3) Rules 16 and 18 of Order V shall apply to summons personally served under this rule, as though the person effecting service were a serving officer.

RULE 8: Service of summons by Court.
Every summons under this Order, not being a summons made over to a party for service under rule 7A of this Order, shall be served as nearly as may be in the same manner as a summons to a defendant, and the rules in Order V as to proof of service shall apply thereto.

RULE 9: Time for serving summons.
Service shall in all cases be made a sufficient time before the time specified in the summons for the attendance of the person summoned, to allow him a reasonable time for preparation and for travelling to the place at which his attendance is required.

RULE 10: Procedure where witness fails to comply with summons.
(1) Where a person to whom a summons has been issued either to attend to give evidence or to produce a document fails to attend or to produce the document in compliance with such summons, the Court shall, if the certificate of the serving-officer has not been verified by affidavit, and may, if it has been so verified, examine the serving-officer on oath, or cause him to be so examined by another Court, touching the service or non-service of the summons.
(2) Where the Court sees reason to believe that such evidence or production is material, and that such person has without lawful excuse, failed to attend or to produce the document in compliance with such summons or has intentionally avoided service, it may issue a proclamation requiring him to attend to give evidence or to produce the document at a time and place to be named therein; and a copy of such proclamation shall be affixed on the outer door or other conspicuous part of the house in which he ordinarily resides.
(3) In lieu of or at the time of issuing such proclamation, or at any time afterwards, the Court may, in its discretion, issue a warrant, either with or without bail, for the arrest of such person, and may make an order for the attachment of his property to such amount as it thinks fit not exceeding the amount of the costs of attachment and of any fine which may be imposed under rule 12:
Provided that no Court of Small Causes shall make an order for the attachment of immovable property.

RULE 11: If witness appears attachment may be withdrawn.
Where, at any time after the attachment of his property, such person appears and satisfies the Court,
(a) that he did not, without lawful excuse, fail to comply with the summons or intentionally avoid service, and
(b) where he has failed to attend at the time and place named in a proclamation issued under the last preceding rule, that he had no notice of such proclamation in time to attend,
the Court shall direct that the property be released from attachment, and shall make such order as to the costs of the attachment as it thinks fit.

RULE 12: Procedure if witness fails to appear.
The Court may, where such person does not appear, or appears but fails so to satisfy the Court, impose upon him such fine not exceeding [two thousand] rupees as it thinks fit, having regard to his condition in life and all the circumstances of the case, and may order his property, or any part thereof, to be attached and sold or, if already attached under rule 10, to be sold for the purpose of satisfying all costs of such attachment, together with the amount of the said fine, if any:
Provided that, if the person whose attendance is required pays into Court the costs and fine aforesaid, the Court shall order the property to be released from attachment.

RULE 13: Mode of attachment.
The provisions with regard to the attachment and sale of property in the execution of a decree shall, so far as they are applicable, be deemed to apply to any attachment and sale under this Order as if the person whose property is so attached were a judgment-debtor.

RULE 14: Court may of its accord summon as witnesses strangers to suit.
Subject to the provisions of this Code as to attendance and appearance and to any law for the time being in force, where the Court at any time thinks it is necessary to examine any person other than a party to the suit and not called as a witness by a party to the suit, the Court may, of its own motion, cause such person to be summoned as a witness to give evidence, or to produce any document in his possession, on a day to be appointed, and may examine him as a witness or require him to produce such document.

RULE 15: Duty of persons summoned to give evidence or produce document.
Subject as last aforesaid whoever is summoned to appear and give evidence in a suit shall attend at the time and place named in the summons for that purpose, and whoever is summoned to produce a document shall either attend to produce it, or cause it to be produced, at such time and place.

RULE 16: When they may depart.
(1) A person so summoned and attending shall, unless the Court otherwise directs, attend at each hearing until the suit has been disposed of.
(2) On the application of either party and the payment through the Court of all necessary expenses (if any), the Court may require any person so summoned and attending to furnish security to attend at the next or any other hearing or until the suit is disposed of and, in default of his furnishing such security, may order him to be detained in the civil prison.

RULE 17: Application of rules 10 to 13.
The provisions of rules 10 to 13 shall, so far as they are applicable, be deemed to apply to any person who having attended in compliance with a summons departs, without lawful excuse, in contravention of rule 16.

RULE 18: Procedure where witness apprehended cannot give evidence or produce document.
Where any person arrested under a warrant is brought before the Court in custody and cannot, owing to the absence of the parties or any of them, give the evidence or produce the document which he has been summoned to give or produce, the Court may require him to give reasonable bail or other security for his appearance at such time and place as it thinks fit, and, on such bail or security being given, may release him, and, in default of his giving such bail or security, may order him to be detained in the civil prison.

RULE 19: No witness to be ordered to attend in person unless resident within certain limits.
A person shall not be asked by a Court to attend in person to give evidence unless he resides at any place in Pakistan.

RULE 20: Consequence of refusal of party to give evidence when called on by Court.
Where any party to a suit present in Court refuses, without lawful excuse, when required by the Court, to give evidence or to produce any document then and there in his possession or power, the Court may pronounce judgment against him or make such order in relation to the suit as it thinks fit.

RULE 21: Rules as to witnesses to apply to parties summoned.
Where any party to a suit is required to give evidence or to produce a document, the provisions as to witnesses shall apply to him so far as they are applicable.