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Shri Harish Salve, learned senior counsel for the petitioner, contended that in convicting the petitioner under Section 193 IPC this Court has completely stultified the procedure prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure thereby acting contrary to the mandate of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Elaborating this submission he stated that Section 195 Cr.P.C, deals with the manner of taking cognizance of offences arising under Section 193 IPC and Section 340 Cr.P.C. regulates the procedure of making complaints thereto. A complaint ought to have been filed in a competent criminal court for offences arising under Section 193 IPC as provided in Section 195 Cr.P.C. read with Section 340 Cr.P.C. and this Court itself could not have assumed jurisdiction of a criminal court and convicted the petitioner without trial.

Section 340 Cr.P.C. prescribes the procedure as to how a complaint may be preferred under Section 195 Cr.P.C. While under Section 195 Cr.P.C, it is open to the court before which the offence was committed to prefer a complaint for the prosecution of the offender, Section 340 Cr.P.C. prescribes the procedure as to how that complaint may be preferred. Provisions under Section 195 Cr.P.C. are mandatory and no court can take cognizance of offences referred to therein. It is in respect of such offences the court has jurisdiction to proceed under Section 340 Cr.P.C. and a complaint outside the provisions of Section 340 Cr.P.C. cannot be filed by any civil, revenue or criminal court under its inherent jurisdiction.

This Court has always adopted this procedure whenever it is noticed that proceedings before it have been tampered with by production of forged or false documents or any statement has been found to be false. We have not been able to appreciate as to why this procedure was given a go-bye in the present case. May be the provisions of Sections 195 and 340 Cr.P.C. were not brought to the notice of the learned Division Bench.

In the light of the enunciation of law made by this Court in the Supreme Court Bar Association case (supra), this Court could not have assumed jurisdiction by issue of a notice proposing conviction for forgery and making false statements at different stages in the court punishable under Section 193 IPC without following the procedure prescribed under Sections 195 and 340 Cr.P.C. Primarily this Court does not exercise any original criminal jurisdiction in relation to offences arising under Section 193 IPC and secondly the seriousness of the charge arising under Section 193 IPC requires an elaborate inquiry and trial into the matter by me competent criminal court and a summary inquiry by mere issuing a show cause notice and considering affidavits or inquiry reports would not tantamount to a procedure provided under the Criminal Procedure Code. The order made by this Court convicting the petitioner under Section 193 IPC is, therefore, one without jurisdiction and without following due procedure prescribed under law. Though it is not clear from the impugned order whether the powers under Article 142 of the Constitution were exercised to convict the petitioner under Section 193 IPC, we have proceeded on the assumption that it is by exercise of that power that the impugned order had been made for there is no other provision enabling the passing of such an order. As discussed earlier, in view of the decision in Supreme Court Bar Association, case (supra) such an order could not have been made.

(4) that the averments made in this affidavit are true to my knowledge and have been made of my own volition."

To perpetuate an error is no virtue but to correct it is a compulsion of judicial conscience. We, therefore, unhesitatingly set aside the conviction of the petitioner for the offence under Section 193 IPC. We also do not at this stage, consider it expedient to direct the filing of a complaint in the competent court as envisaged by Section 340 Cr.P.C. because the petitioner has already undergone the sentence imposed upon him for an offence under Section 193 IPC although set aside now by this order and we are upholding his conviction and sentence imposed under Article 129 of the Constitution of India for committing contempt of court.