The main legal point established in the judgment is the assessment of the ingredients of forgery under the provisions of CrPC and IPC, and the requirement to establish prima facie evidence of forgery.

JUDGMENT

1. In both the writ petitions, applications have been filed by the private respondent under Section 340 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) alleging that certain forged documents have been annexed to the writ petitions and statements have been made in support thereof which are false and intended to practice fraud upon the court.

2. The first such document is a purported certificate of enlistment issued by the Madhyamgram Municipality to the writ petitioner for carrying on business of readymade garments (retail). Copies of the said document have been annexed by the applicant to the applications, where the endorsements “PROVISIONAL” and “2017-2018” appear. However, in the corresponding copies of the same document annexed to the writ petitions, the said endorsements were not there.

3. The writ petitioner seeks to explain away the same by contending that there was a flood in the region, which caused water-logging and apparently obliterated the said endorsements, which were stamped on the certificate of enlistment with soluble ink. Pleadings and materials in support of the flood has been sought to be produced.

4. A second document alleged to be forged is a leave and licence agreement dated September 13, 2018 annexed to the writ petitions. In internal page no. 3, second paragraph of the said document, there is a handwritten interpolation, apparently indicating that the period of licence was from July 3, 2020 to July 2, 2023.

5. Corresponding copies of the same document annexed to the present applications do not, however, contain such handwritten interpolation.

6. It is well-settled that the accused person is not required to be heard at length in connection with an application under Section 340 of the CrPC. For the purpose of the said Section, the court has to make a preliminary enquiry and if it is of the opinion that it is expedient in the interests of justice that an enquiry should be made into any offence referred to sub-section (1)(b) of Section 195 of the CrPC which appears to have been committed in or in relation to a proceeding in that court, a complaint is to be made.

7. We are to consider as to whether the allegations made in the applications under Section 340 of the CrPC come within the ambit of the said provision. Since Section 340(1) refers back to Section 195 of the CrPC, a reference to the same is necessary.

8. Section 195(1)(b) is to be considered in the present case. Clause (b) of Section 195(1) contains three sub-clauses. Sub-clause (iii) relates to criminal conspiracy to commit or attempt to commit or abatement of any offence specified in the previous two sub-clauses and need not be independently enquired into.

9. Sub-clause (i) of Section 195 (1) (b), CrPC refers to Sections 193 to 196, 199, 200, 205-211 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). On the other hand, sub-clause (ii) speaks about offences described in Section 463 or punishable under Sections 471, 475 or 476 of the IPC when alleged to have been committed in respect of a document produced or given in evidence in a proceeding in any court.

10. Section 193, IPC speaks about punishment for false evidence. False evidence is provided for in Section 191 of the IPC, which says whoever, being legally bound by an oath or by an express provision of law to state the truth, or being bound by law to make a declaration upon any subject, makes any statement which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, is said to give false evidence.

11. Section 193, IPC, while stipulating the punishment, speaks about intentionally giving false evidence at any stage of a judicial proceeding or fabricating false evidence for the purpose of being used at any stage of a judicial proceeding. Thus, the tendering of false evidence need not necessarily pertain to the stage of adducing evidence in a suit, but, as contemplated in Section 191, IPC, can also apply to false statements made on oath before a court of law.

12. Sections 194 to 196 o