Order 13
Production, impounding and return of documents
Reviewed by Kajri Singh · Last reviewed 10 October 2026
Rule-wise procedural control, evidence, timelines, defaults, remedies and commercial-court overlays.
Finin2min Summary
Order 13 regulates production, impounding and return of documents. Build a rule-level chronology, identify mandatory and directory requirements, preserve service/filing/hearing evidence, and check the applicable High Court, State and Commercial Courts amendments.
What Order 13 says, rule by rule
Order 13 is the procedure for putting documents in front of the court and keeping track of them afterwards: producing them, having them marked or rejected, impounding them and returning them. It does not decide whether a document is proved; that is the law of evidence.
| Rule | What it provides |
|---|---|
| 1 — Original documents to be produced at or before the settlement of issues | The parties or their pleaders must produce on or before the settlement of issues all the documentary evidence in original, where copies were filed with the plaint or written statement. The documents are received only with an accurate list in the form the High Court directs. The rule does not apply to documents produced for cross-examination of the other side’s witnesses, or handed to a witness only to refresh memory. |
| 2 — Omitted | The old rule on the effect of non-production was omitted by the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1999 (in force 1 July 2002). Late documents are now dealt with mainly through Order 7 rule 14(3), Order 8 rule 1A(3) and the court’s discretion. |
| 3 — Rejection of irrelevant or inadmissible documents | The court may at any stage of the suit reject any document it considers irrelevant or otherwise inadmissible, recording the grounds of rejection. |
| 4 — Endorsements on documents admitted in evidence | Every document admitted in evidence is endorsed with the number and title of the suit, the name of the person producing it, the date of production and a statement that it was admitted, signed or initialled by the Judge. Where a copy of an entry in a book or account is substituted, the endorsement goes on the copy. |
| 5 — Entries in books, accounts and records | Subject to the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891, a copy of an entry in a letter-book, shop-book or current account can stand in place of the book; the copy is compared and certified, the entry is marked and the book goes back to the person who produced it. |
| 6 — Endorsements on rejected documents | A document held inadmissible carries the same particulars as in rule 4 plus a statement that it was rejected, signed or initialled by the Judge. |
| 7 — Record of admitted documents; return of rejected ones | Admitted documents (or the substituted copies) form part of the record of the suit. Documents not admitted do not, and are returned to the persons who produced them. |
| 8 — Impounding | For sufficient cause the court may direct a document or book produced in the suit to be impounded and kept in the custody of an officer of the court, for the period and on the conditions it fixes. |
| 9 — Return of admitted documents | A person (whether or not a party) may claim back a document admitted in evidence and placed on the record unless it is impounded: after disposal of the suit where no appeal lies, or after the appeal period has passed or the appeal is decided. Earlier return is possible if the applicant substitutes a certified copy and undertakes to produce the original on demand. A document that the decree has made wholly void or useless is not returned, and a receipt is taken on return. |
| 10 — Papers from the court’s own records or other courts | The court may, on its own motion or on application, send for and inspect the record of another suit or proceeding. Unless the court directs otherwise, the application is supported by an affidavit showing why the record is material and why a certified copy cannot be had without unreasonable delay or expense, or why the original is necessary for justice. The rule does not make an inadmissible document usable as evidence. |
| 11 — Other material objects | The rules on documents apply, so far as may be, to all other material objects produced as evidence. |
Current source map
Official CPC gateway. The First Schedule, local amendments and court rules must be verified for the forum and filing date.
Rule-by-rule decode template
| Rule element | Professional control |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Identify pleading, appearance, evidence, interim, execution or appeal event. |
| Deadline | Record statutory/court-fixed period, service and exclusion. |
| Form and affidavit | Use current court format, verification and Statement of Truth where applicable. |
| Default consequence | Test forfeiture, costs, ex parte step, rejection, dismissal or cure. |
| Remedy | Restoration, recall, appeal, review, revision or constitutional remedy. |
Worked example
A supplier sues for unpaid invoices and files photocopies of the invoices and the buyer’s delivery acknowledgements with the plaint, with a list of documents. The buyer files a written statement with its own set of copies. The court frames issues on 10 March.
- By 10 March (rule 1): both sides must produce the originals of whatever they filed as copies, with an accurate list in the High Court’s prescribed form. A party that holds only a copy should be ready to explain why and to rely on the evidence law’s rules on secondary evidence.
- At trial (rules 3-4): when a document is tendered, the court either admits it, in which case it is marked as an exhibit and endorsed as in rule 4, or rejects it for irrelevance or inadmissibility with recorded grounds under rules 3 and 6.
- If an invoice looks altered (rule 8): the court can impound it and keep it with a court officer instead of returning it to the producer.
- After judgment (rule 9): the supplier asks for the original delivery acknowledgements back once the appeal period has run; during the suit it can ask for them against a certified copy and an undertaking.
Common mistakes
- Producing photocopies at the stage of issues when the originals are in the party’s possession. Rule 1 asks for originals where copies were filed with the pleadings.
- Filing documents without the list the High Court requires, or with a list that does not match what is handed up.
- Treating the exhibit mark as proof. Admission and endorsement under rule 4 record that a document was received; proving its contents, execution or authenticity is a separate step under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
- Producing a book of account when a copy of the relevant entry would do (rule 5), and then being unable to recover the book.
- Assuming that a document filed by the other side can only be returned to that side. Rule 9 lets any person who produced it, party or not, claim it back.
- Applying the central text without checking the High Court’s own rules on lists, endorsement and e-filing, or the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 where the suit is a commercial dispute.
Practical Q&A on Order 13
By when must original documents be produced under Order 13?
Rule 1 requires the parties or their pleaders to produce the documentary evidence in original, where copies were filed with the plaint or written statement, on or before the settlement of issues, together with an accurate list in the form the High Court prescribes.
Can a document still be filed after issues are framed?
Rule 2, the old provision on the effect of non-production, was omitted with effect from 1 July 2002. Late documents are now handled mainly under Order 7 rule 14(3) and Order 8 rule 1A(3), which require the court’s leave, and under the court’s general discretion.
Can the court reject a document after accepting it?
Rule 3 lets the court reject any document it considers irrelevant or otherwise inadmissible at any stage of the suit, but it must record its grounds. A rejected document is endorsed under rule 6 and returned under rule 7(2).
What does impounding a document mean?
Under rule 8 the court may, for sufficient cause, direct a document or book produced in a suit to be impounded and kept with an officer of the court for the period and on the conditions it fixes. The return provisions in rule 9 do not apply to a document that has been impounded under rule 8.
Can I get my original document back before the case ends?
Yes, in the circumstances in the first proviso to rule 9: the applicant gives a certified copy to replace the original and undertakes to produce the original if the court later requires it. Otherwise return is after the suit or the appeal is finished. A receipt is taken on return.
Does Order 13 decide whether a document is genuine?
No. It governs production, marking, rejection, impounding and return. Proof of contents and authenticity falls under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, including its provisions on primary and secondary evidence and on electronic records.
Evidence and defect-closure checklist
- Pleading, application or affidavit as filed, with the exact date and mode of filing.
- Proof of service on every party required to be served, including any substituted-service order relied on.
- Court fee, process fee and any deficiency-cure record.
- Orders passed at each hearing, and whether any direction under this Order was complied with within the time fixed.
- Where a default or defect arose, the memo recording it and the step taken to cure or contest it.
Interaction with other Orders
No Order of the First Schedule operates in isolation. Before finalising a position under this Order, check whether a connected Order (framing of issues, discovery, evidence, execution or appeal, depending on the stage) changes the procedural consequence, and whether the applicable High Court Rules or Commercial Courts Act modifications alter the default central-text position for this case.
Official sources and related pages
- Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - India Code — official text of the Code and the First Schedule
- Order 13 rule pages — rule-by-rule pages for this Order
- Order 7 - Plaint — documents to be filed with the plaint, rule 14
- Order 8 - Written statement — documents with the written statement, rule 1A
- Order 11 - Discovery and inspection — documents in the other side’s possession
- Order 18 - Hearing of the suit and witnesses — when documents are tendered
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — proof of documents and electronic records
- Commercial Courts Act modifications — where the suit is a commercial dispute