Preface

The system of justice administration has landed in a very precarious condition, where unscrupulous litigants file false cases in Courts of law to safely torture & torment innocent law abiding citizens, using the process of justice administration and powers of Courts as lever, causing loss and harassment to him and taking the blindfolded Goddess of Justice for ride on false statements and false and/or fabricated evidence.

With great respect to the Hon’ble Courts, it is not author’s view only, instead, an impression one gathers from various judgments of Hon’ble Supreme Court cited in this book, that this level of prevalence of perjury is because of inappropriate or incorrect understanding of law of perjury in its letter and/or spirit on the part of the judges. Coupled with their laxity in approach or dereliction of duty or inefficiency that has turned the non-compoundable offence(s) of perjury and against administration of justice into no offence: almost a dead letter of law. Quashing the prosecutions for perjury by Hon’ble High Courts or even by Hon’ble Supreme Court, if actually and in substance the offence is committed and it is in the interests of justice to prosecute the offender is clear disregard to Sub-section (2) of S.340 Cr.P.C.

As a lawyer practicing in Delhi Courts for more than 24 years, the author can claim, that almost in about 70% of the written statements, submitted as defence to the plaints in the suits filed by him on behalf of his clients, blatant false statements were pleaded in defence in such written statements and it used to be a task requiring tremendous energy, time and strain on brain to demonstrate the falsity of such statements.

An honest assessment will reveal that out of about 50 million cases pending in Indian Courts, upto about 20 million cases may be plagued with the evil of professing falsehoods either in pleadings or in evidence or even in arguments. Out of these about 20 million cases, hardly, in few thousand cases, applications U/S.340 Cr.P.C. are moved and in just few hundred of such applications prosecutions are preferred. Unfortunately, analysis may reveal that not even in scores of such prosecutions, law takes its just & correct course and in all those 20 million cases, it can be said that ‘perjury rules’ if not winning ultimately but certainly delaying the justice to the needy & aggrieved.

Perjurer always wins,Victims of perjury ‘always lose’

How perjurer wins at every turn of litigation -

•       In lot many cases making false statement in Court(s), practically, goes undetected or despite detection, the opposite party fails to prove its falsity and hence in large number of cases, perjurer wins the case.

•       Even if the opposite party or his counsel detects the falsehoods and demonstrates the same to the Court and wins the case defeating the falsehoods; in Indian Justice System of today, too many years are wasted in demonstrating the ‘falsity of such a false statement’ or ‘forgery of such a false or forged document’ and all this time the perjurer keeps on enjoying the fruits of property or right for which he is not entitled.

•       Since no penal action is, normally, taken against him for professing such falsehood(s), he repeats the exercise again elsewhere, victimizing yet another law-abiding litigant.

•       Even if a Judge decides to take penal action against such perjury, he issues Notice to the perjurer (despite being unnecessary in view of Full Bench decision of Hon’ble Supreme Court in “Pritish Vs. State of Maharashtra (2002)1 SCC 253”), and again months & years are consumed debating on this Show Cause Notice.

•       Besides, the perjurer may challenge the issuance of Show-Cause Notice or prosecution launched under S.340 Cr.P.C. and most often gets the same quashed, as demonstrated by various judgments & decisions cited in this book, exploiting procedural loopholes or lack of understanding of provisions of S.340 Cr.P.C. or Summary procedure under S.344 Cr.P.C. on the part of the Court concerned. Or

He may, on receiving Show-Cause Notice, even tender apology, and hence may be allowed to go scot-free, say after paying a cost of Rs.50,000/- or so, which may not be even 1/3rd of the fees/legal expenses incurred by the victim party in demonstrating the falsehood and its litigative offshoots.

•       Even if prosecuted, he may, still, get acquitted by exploiting the loops & lacunas of interpretation.

Finally, even if he gets convicted, he may still enjoy the leniency of Court(s) and escape with mocking punishment of ‘admonition’ as in State Vs. ASI Shankar Lal etc. (cited in #1.4.3.1 (ante))

On the other hand, where a false claim is lodged or false defence is raised against a law abiding citizen approaching the Hon’ble Court or summoned by Hon’ble Court, his voice that he is falling victim to perjury is, practically, not heard for years.

•       Even if he moves an application under S.340 Cr.P.C. bringing out the falsehoods professed against him his application remains pending for months & years.

•       Even if the same is decided by the Trial Court in his favour, the appeals are admitted, often, too leniently and then the appeal remains pending for years. In effect subjecting the innocent law abiding litigant with yet another trauma of litigation and the truth doesn't see the light of the day for years sometimes for decades.

•       Just for being a law-abiding citizen having respect & regard to the Majesty of Hon’ble Courts, the victim of perjury remains bound all this time, compelled to keep visiting Courts. His liberties to move as per his free wish become subjected to the date(s) of hearing before the Court, which often happen to be endlessly many , justifying the phrase “Tareekh pe Tareekh”, paying to his Counsels, his heart-beats fluctuating, carrying the uncertainty of the outcome of litigation.

•       To every victim of perjury or false claim(s) or false defence(s), the Temple of Justice becomes a centre of torture, where unscrupulous litigants enslave him through the orders/ directions, passed by Hon’ble Courts, based on or relying upon falsehoods professed by them.

 

Perjury ruling: ‘Asatyamev Jayate?’:: Whither justice …