Section 14A explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 14A lets a court, in any suit under the Specific Relief Act, engage one or more experts when it thinks expert opinion is needed on a specific issue. It also covers access to documents and property, the status of the expert's report, how the expert may be examined and who pays the fee.
This article follows the consolidated text of the Act consulted (amendments shown up to Act 18 of 2018). Later amendments should be checked before you rely on any provision.
In any suit under this Act, where the court considers expert opinion necessary on a specific issue, it may engage one or more experts, direct them to report, and secure their attendance. It can require any person to give information or provide access to documents, goods or property. The report forms part of the record, and the expert can be examined in open court. The expert's fee, cost or expense is fixed by the court and payable by the parties as the court directs.
Where section 14A comes from
Section 14A is printed inside the square bracket that begins at section 14 and ends after section 14A. The footnote reads "Subs. by Act 18 of 2018, s. 5, for section 14 (w.e.f. 1-10-2018)." So section 14 was substituted in 2018 and section 14A appears inside that same bracket. The text consulted does not print the earlier section 14 and this article does not describe it.
Section 14 itself already has its own post on the site: see when specific performance cannot be granted under section 14. In two or three sentences, as the text consulted prints it, section 14 lists four kinds of contract that "cannot be specifically enforced": where a party has obtained substituted performance under section 20; a contract needing a continuous duty the court cannot supervise; a contract so dependent on personal qualifications that the court cannot enforce its material terms; and a contract that is in its nature determinable. Section 14A is a different provision, about expert help for the court.
Section 14A(1): engaging experts
"Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), in any suit under this Act, where the court considers it necessary to get expert opinion to assist it on any specific issue involved in the suit, it may engage one or more experts and direct to report to it on such issue and may secure attendance of the expert for providing evidence, including production of documents on the issue."
Break it down:
- Scope: "any suit under this Act". It is not limited to one kind of suit. It can arise in a suit on a construction contract, a supply contract, a property dispute or any other claim under the Act.
- Trigger: the court "considers it necessary" to get expert opinion to assist on a "specific issue" in the suit. The court decides necessity.
- Power: engage "one or more experts", direct a report, and secure attendance for evidence, "including production of documents on the issue".
- Relation to the Code of Civil Procedure: the power is "without prejudice to the generality" of that Code. The Code is mentioned, but no Order or rule of it is named here because the Act names none.
An invented example: in a suit over a contract to build a warehouse, the question is whether the work done meets the agreed specification. The court may engage a civil engineer to report on that issue.
For a comparison from another statute, see our post on the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, expert appointed by the tribunal and court assistance in taking evidence, which deals with experts in arbitration under that Act.
If you are in a contract dispute where a technical question is likely to decide the outcome, it helps to plan for it from the start. Our team can talk through your commercial suit and the evidence it will need.
Section 14A(2): information and access
"The court may require or direct any person to give relevant information to the expert or to produce, or to provide access to, any relevant documents, goods or other property for his inspection."
The direction can go to "any person", not only the parties. The expert may need information, documents, goods or other property. The court may order that these be given, produced or opened for inspection. The sub-section does not say what follows if a person does not comply and this article does not add anything.
Section 14A(3): the report and examination
"The opinion or report given by the expert shall form part of the record of the suit; and the court, or with the permission of the court any of the parties to the suit, may examine the expert personally in open court on any of the matters referred to him or mentioned in his opinion or report, or as to his opinion or report, or as to the manner in which he has made the inspection."
Two consequences:
- The report is part of the record. It is not a private paper for the judge.
- The court may examine the expert personally in open court. A party may do so too, but only with the permission of the court. The examination may cover the matters referred to the expert, the matters in the report, the opinion itself, and the way the inspection was made.
Section 14A(4): the expert's fee
"The expert shall be entitled to such fee, cost or expense as the court may fix, which shall be payable by the parties in such proportion, and at such time, as the court may direct." The court fixes the amount and decides how the parties share it and when it is payable. The text consulted gives no figure and the Act sets no scale.
| Sub-section | Subject | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| 14A(1) | Engaging experts | Any suit under the Act; court considers expert opinion necessary on a specific issue; one or more experts; attendance and documents |
| 14A(2) | Information and access | Court may require any person to give information or provide access to documents, goods or other property |
| 14A(3) | Report and examination | Report forms part of the record; examination in open court by the court or, with permission, by a party |
| 14A(4) | Fee | Fixed by the court; payable by the parties in the proportion and at the time the court directs |
What section 14A means for litigants
Section 14A gives the court the power; it does not oblige a party to ask for it. A party who thinks a technical issue is central may point to it and ask the court to consider engaging an expert, but the Act leaves the decision on necessity to the court. Parties should expect that the report becomes part of the record and that the expert can be questioned, so it pays to keep documents, drawings, logs and samples in good order for inspection.
Section 14A is a procedural help inside a suit. It does not change what a party must prove under sections such as section 16, discussed in our article on personal bars to relief and readiness and willingness. It also stands apart from section 20C on the time for deciding suits, covered in sections 20B-20C. For the preceding section in this series, read section 13.
Need help preparing a suit with technical issues?
Where the dispute turns on measurements, quality, valuation or technical performance, the way the issue is framed and the documents are kept can matter a great deal. We can help you prepare the commercial suit and the evidence behind it.
Key takeaways
- Section 14A applies in any suit under the Specific Relief Act.
- The court may engage one or more experts where it considers expert opinion necessary on a specific issue.
- It may require any person to give information or provide access to documents, goods or other property.
- The expert's report forms part of the record, and the expert may be examined in open court.
- The court fixes the expert's fee, and the parties pay in the proportion and at the time the court directs.
- Section 14A was printed within the section 14 substituted by Act 18 of 2018.
Read next
- Section 13 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963: rights of a purchaser or lessee against a seller with no title or imperfect title
- Section 16 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963: personal bars to relief, readiness and willingness
- Sections 20B-20C of the Specific Relief Act, 1963: Special Courts and disposal of suits within twelve months
- Section 14: when specific performance cannot be granted
Disclaimer: Based on a consolidated text of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 showing amendments up to the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 (in force from 1 October 2018), as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later amendments, notifications under the Act and the law of limitation should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.