Parties must produce their own evidence

Parties must produce their own evidence.—(1) The parties shall produce their own evidence and the Panchayati Adalat may, by summons, or otherwise, summon any person to give evidence or to produce or cause to be produced any document and every person shall be bound to comply with the summons.

1. (2) The Panchayati Adalat may, for reasons to be recorded, refuse to summon a witness if in the opinion of the Panchayati Adalat, the attendance of such witness cannot be procured without such an amount of delay, expense or inconvenience as would be unreasonable.
2. (3) The Panchayati Adalat shall not require any person living beyond its jurisdiction to give evidence or to produce a document unless such a sum of money has been deposited as appears to the Panchayati Adalat to be sufficient to defray his reasonable expenses.
3. (4) If any person, whom the Panchayati Adalat summons in order to appear or to give evidence or to produce any document, wilfully fails to obey such summons, the Panchayati Adalat may take cognizance of disobedience, and, after giving such person an opportunity to explain, may, if found guilty, punish him on the first occasion with a fine not exceeding ten rupees and on a second occasion in regard to the same suit or case with a fine of twenty rupees and when such disobedience is a continuing one, with a fine of one rupees for each day of the continuance of such disobedience.
4. (5) No Panchayati Adalat shall compel any person to disclose any communication, which such person is not legally compelled to disclose under the provisions of the Evidence Act, 1977.