Perjury under Indian law

A Jammu & Kashmir, Kathua rape-murder case, in which an eight-year-old Gujjar Bakarwal girl was raped and murdered hit the national news which caused massive turmoil in the country. Relating to this case, in an order dated 22 October 2019 from the court of the judicial magistrate (CJM), the judge has allowed for a case to be filed against six policemen. The court order read: "the applicants were coerced/tortured/forced by applicants (SIT) to give false evidence against accused Vishal Jangotra" seeking the registration of FIR.

Applicants, in this case, had filed a complaint before the SHO of Pacca Danga police station in Jammu seeking registration of FIR under Section 194 of the IPC (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of capital offence) and other relevant provisions of the law against the members of the SIT.

Now, what is fabricating evidence?

According to Section 193 of IPC, Whoever intentionally gives false evidence in any judicial proceeding or fabricates false evidence for the purpose of being used in any stage of a judicial proceeding, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

An explanation for such a crime is listed under Section 193 of IPC as follow:

A trial before a Court-martial is a judicial proceeding.

An investigation directed by law preliminary to a proceeding before a Court of Justice, is a stage of a judicial proceeding, though that investigation may not take place before a Court of Justice.

Frequently asked questions on fabricating evidence in Indian Law

1. Why does the offence of perjury have a basic sentence in Indian law?

Ans: Offence of perjury doesn’t have a basic sentence nor does, increasing the punishment will help to speed-up justice delivery because here the prosecution is expected to bring the evidence against the accused and the accused is not asked directly about his/her crimes as this may be a direct violation of the right against self-incrimination. The accused is considered innocent until proven guilty here.

2. Can an IPC 193 (fabricated evidence) case lead to an arrest?

Ans: If the offence is committed in any stage of a judicial proceeding it is more severely punishable inclusive of an arrest up to 7 years. When it is committed in a non-judicial proceeding, Section 193 of IPC takes into consideration the difference between a crime perpetrated in the presence of the court which is the sanctuary of truth, before whom the gravest issues are often tried, and of those before whom matters of comparatively smaller consequences come up for decision.

3. What is the punishment, if a woman misuses the law to file false case against her husband?

Ans: In such a case where a woman files a false complaint against her husband can be dealt with in 2 ways: 

If she files a complaint against her husband, say for torture, the demand of dowry etc. The Police will commence an investigation. ENough evidence is required to file a charge sheet in the court. If the Police come to a conclusion that the complaint is false or fabricated and there is enough evidence to prove the same then the Police may classify the case as B summary and prosecute the woman for filing a false case.

If the husband faces the trial and on the conclusion of the trial the court acquits him from all charges and specifically records in its judgment that the evidence adduced is false and the husband has been intentionally implicated on the basis of false evidence, then-husband can prosecute the woman for lodging false complaint.

4. What is the punishment for submitting a false affidavit?

Ans: If a person voluntarily files a false affidavit, then he/she can be punished under Section 193 of the Indian Penal Code for giving false evidence. Filing false affidavit falls within the purview of Section 191 of the IPC. In this situation, the punishment for filing a false affidavit is punishable by imprisonment for a term ranging from 3 - 7 years.