Perjury - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition perjury

Definition :

Perjury, telling lie in a court, Swaran Singh v. State of Punjab, (2005) 5 SCC 668. [Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Ch 26]

The offence committed when a lawful oath or affirmation (see OATHS and AFFIRATION) is administered and the witness swears or affirms falsely in a matter material to the issue.

The law on this subject is now contained in the (English) Perjury Act, 1911, 'an Act to consolidate and simplify the law relating to perjury and kindred offences'; it repeals the whole of the Acts 5 Eliz. c. 9 and 2 Geo. , c. 25 [the (English) Perjury Act, 1728] and portions of one hundred and thirty other statutes. The Act may be briefly summarised as follows: If any person lawfully sworn as a witness or as an interpreter in a 'judicial proceed-ing' wilfully makes a statement material in that proceeding, which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, he will be guilty of perjury and liable to penal servitude for not exceeding seven years, or imprisonment with or without hard labour for not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both penal servitude or imprisonment and fine; 'judicial proceeding' includes a proceeding before any Court, tribunal, or person having by law power to hear, receive and examine evidence on oath, and the question whether a statement was 'material' is a question of law to be determined by the Court of trial (s. 1) s. 2 deals with false statements on oath otherwise than in a judicial proceeding, and s. 3 with false oaths, declarations, notices, etc., with reference to marriage; an offence under either of these sections is a misdemeanour and punishable as above. S. 4 deals with false answers, declarations, etc., as to births and deaths; s. 5 (extended by (English) Local Government Act, 1933, ss. 225 and 243) with false statutory declarations (see that title) and other false statements without oath; and s. 6 with false or fradulent declarations, certificates, or representa-tions, made in order to obtain registration for the purpose of carrying on any vocation or calling. Every person who aids, abets, counsels, procures or suborns another to commit an offence against the Act is liable as a principal offender (s. 7), and every person who incites or attempts to procure or suborn another to commit an offence is guilty of a misdemeanour (ibid.). See SUBORNATION.

No person can, however, be convicted of any offence against the Act or of any offence declared by any other Act to be perjury or subornation of perjury or to be punishable as such, solely upon the evidence of one witness as to the falsity of any statement alleged to be false (s. 13); in other words, there must be corroboration on that issue.

Of the remaining sections the principal are s. 9, which empowers judges and others to direct a prosecution for perjury; s. 10, which denies jurisdiction to quarter sessions; and s. 14, which deals with the proof of certain proceedings in which perjury can occur; and see also the (English) Criminal Justice Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5, c. 86).