# ·, KAMLA PRASAD SINGH v. HARi NATH SINGH & ANR

- **Citation:** [1967] 3 S.C.R. 828
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1967-04-27
- **Bench:** M. Hioayatullah, C. A. Vaidialingam
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/kamla-prasad-singh-v-hari-nath-singh-anr-4027
- **Pages:** 5

## Headnote

B
1"dia11 Pcm1/ Code. (45 of 1860) Ss. 192 a11d 218 -Difference-Fals•
e\.·idence used in judicial proceedi'ngs--Public servant prepared false
re~
eol'(/--P1ivu1e coniolaint. if can be made.
9ocle of Criminal Proced11re, (5 of 1898) S. 195-False evidence
used in j1iilicial procetili11gs-Public se1Tant prepared false record-Prit.•ate c:o1nplaint if c,111 be 1nade.
The "PP•llanl, a private ·rerson, filed three complaints under s. 2.18
1.P.C. for the prosecution o respondent 1 charging him in each cue
with abetment of offences committed by three public 5ervants. In each
complaint respondent I was a co-accused with another-in one with an
Ahlmad of Tahsildar's Court. in another with one Lekhpal, and in the
third with the another 'Lekhpal.
The Ahimud was alleged to have intentionally made a false entry about the case intending that the false entry
should he used in a judicial· proceeding and wrong opinion be formed,
11>' Lekhmrh: were
alle~ed to have caused the preparation of an
incorrect Khasra knowing to .be likely thnt they would thereby cause loss
or injury to the appellant. The responclenr I filed an application under
s. 56(-A Cr.P.C. stating that the offence. if any, was one under s. 193
J.P.C. and the provisions of Ii, 195 Cr.P.C. barred
private complaints,
which the High Court accepted.
In appeal, this Court,
HELD : The bar of private complaints applied to the case of Ahlmad,
but not to those of Lekhpals. [832 C·Dl
The difference between ss. 192 and 218 I.P.C. is that the former deals
with judicial proceeding and the false evidence is intended to be used in
a judicial proceedings. while the 111.tter deals_ with public servants, and,
there the gist is the international preparation of false record with a view
of savin~ or injuring any person or property and need not have relation
to a judicial proceeding us such. (830 DJ
Section 19:! J.P.C. covers the case against tho Ahlmad and l'Ollpott·
dent I und the offence is punishable under •. 193 I.P.C. which i• mentioned in '· 195(1l(b) Cr.P.C.
No Court can take cognizance of an
offence under s. 193 except on the complaint in writing of such court.
The alleged offence against the Lekhpals and respondent 1, their abettor,
in the other two cases was of a different order. ThO' offence of a. 2.18
l.P.C. is not a minor offence included withins. 192. It is distinct offence
which can be proceeded agninst without the baT of s. 195 Cr.P.C. 'Ibe
offence wus complete the moment the false record was made with the
said intention and it was not necessary for the completion of this offence
that the record should be used in a judicial proceeding so .. to cause
an erroneous opinion tq be formed touching on a point material to the
result of such ·proceeding. In the Ahlmad's
case this latter condition
""" the most important ingredient. [831 B.C, D-0]
CRIMINAL
APPELLATE
J.UR!SDICTION : Criminal
Appeals
Nos. 244·246 of 1964.
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K. P. SINGH v. H. N. SINGH (Hidayatu/lah, J.)
S29
A
Appeals from. the judgment and order dated February 19,
1964 of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal Misc. Applications
Nos. 1853, 3043 and 3044 of 1963.
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W. S. Barlingay, J. C. Jalwar and R. L. Kohli, for the appellant (in all the appeals).
J. P. Goyal and R. B. Pathak, for respondent No. 1 (in all
the appeals).

## Text

·,
KAMLA PRASAD SINGH
A
v.
HARi NATH SINGH & ANR.
April 27, 1967
[M. HIOAYATULLAH AND C. A. VAIDIALINGAM, JJ.]
B
1"dia11 Pcm1/ Code. (45 of 1860) Ss. 192 a11d 218 -Difference-Fals•
e\.·idence used in judicial proceedi'ngs--Public servant prepared false
re~
eol'(/--P1ivu1e coniolaint. if can be made.
9ocle of Criminal Proced11re, (5 of 1898) S. 195-False evidence
used in j1iilicial procetili11gs-Public se1Tant prepared false record-Prit.•ate c:o1nplaint if c,111 be 1nade.
The "PP•llanl, a private ·rerson, filed three complaints under s. 2.18
1.P.C. for the prosecution o respondent 1 charging him in each cue
with abetment of offences committed by three public 5ervants. In each
complaint respondent I was a co-accused with another-in one with an
Ahlmad of Tahsildar's Court. in another with one Lekhpal, and in the
third with the another 'Lekhpal.
The Ahimud was alleged to have intentionally made a false entry about the case intending that the false entry
should he used in a judicial· proceeding and wrong opinion be formed,
11>' Lekhmrh: were
alle~ed to have caused the preparation of an
incorrect Khasra knowing to .be likely thnt they would thereby cause loss
or injury to the appellant. The responclenr I filed an application under
s. 56(-A Cr.P.C. stating that the offence. if any, was one under s. 193
J.P.C. and the provisions of Ii, 195 Cr.P.C. barred
private complaints,
which the High Court accepted.
In appeal, this Court,
HELD : The bar of private complaints applied to the case of Ahlmad,
but not to those of Lekhpals. [832 C·Dl
The difference between ss. 192 and 218 I.P.C. is that the former deals
with judicial proceeding and the false evidence is intended to be used in
a judicial proceedings. while the 111.tter deals_ with public servants, and,
there the gist is the international preparation of false record with a view
of savin~ or injuring any person or property and need not have relation
to a judicial proceeding us such. (830 DJ
Section 19:! J.P.C. covers the case against tho Ahlmad and l'Ollpott·
dent I und the offence is punishable under •. 193 I.P.C. which i• mentioned in '· 195(1l(b) Cr.P.C.
No Court can take cognizance of an
offence under s. 193 except on the complaint in writing of such court.
The alleged offence against the Lekhpals and respondent 1, their abettor,
in the other two cases was of a different order. ThO' offence of a. 2.18
l.P.C. is not a minor offence included withins. 192. It is distinct offence
which can be proceeded agninst without the baT of s. 195 Cr.P.C. 'Ibe
offence wus complete the moment the false record was made with the
said intention and it was not necessary for the completion of this offence
that the record should be used in a judicial proceeding so .. to cause
an erroneous opinion tq be formed touching on a point material to the
result of such ·proceeding. In the Ahlmad's
case this latter condition
""" the most important ingredient. [831 B.C, D-0]
CRIMINAL
APPELLATE
J.UR!SDICTION : Criminal
Appeals
Nos. 244·246 of 1964.
c
D
E
F
G
H
K. P. SINGH v. H. N. SINGH (Hidayatu/lah, J.)
S29
A
Appeals from. the judgment and order dated February 19,
1964 of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal Misc. Applications
Nos. 1853, 3043 and 3044 of 1963.
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
W. S. Barlingay, J. C. Jalwar and R. L. Kohli, for the appellant (in all the appeals).
J. P. Goyal and R. B. Pathak, for respondent No. 1 (in all
the appeals).
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Hidayatullab, J. Kamla Prasad Singh the appellant had filed
three complaints in the Court of the Additional District Magistrate (Judicial) Varanasi for the prosecution of Harinath Singh
(resPondent No. 1) under s. 218 Indian Penal Code. In each
of these complaints Harinath was a co-accused with another.. In
one, it was Mangla Prasad Pandey, Ahlmad, Court of Tahs!ldar,
Sadar Varanasi, in another it was Ramchander Lekhpal of V !Uage
Balua and in the third it was Ram Samravlal Lekhpal of Village
Cholapore.
In each case Harinath Singh was said to have
abetted the offence committed by his co-accused. The circumstances in which the complaints were lodged were common and
may now be briefly stated.
Certain Bhumidari lands in these villages were the property of
Nankoo s/o Mehar Singh and Stimitra widow of one Ajudhia
Singh. On December 4, 1962, Nankoo sold his half share to
Kamla Prasad Singh and some otliers.
Kamla Prasad's
complaint is that Harinath Singh in conspiracy with the two Lekhpals
got certain forged entries to be made in the Khasra after the sale
in favour of Kamla Prasad, and applied for the correction of the
Jamabandi. The Ahlmad in conspiracy with Harinath Singh
ante-dated the said application to November 9, 1962, to make it
ap~ that it was made prior to the sale-deed and to shield the
Lekhpals. The application was entered in the register of Jamaband's as. Case No. 116 dated November 9, 1962 although the
case bearmg that number was one between Bhagwati Singh and
Bhagwati of Birbalpura Kaswal Raja.
·
Afte: th~ complaints were in Court, Harinath Singh filed an
applkauon under s. 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure
stating that the offence, if any, was one under s. 193 of the Indian
Pen* Code and the provisions of s. 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure bai:red. the private complaints.
The High Court
accepte~ the apphcauon. for the above reason and quashing the
proceedings agamst Han Nath Singh ordered his discharge. In
t~ese appeals by certificate, the order of the High Court is questioned.
The first question is what are the distinct features of s. 193
and s. 218 of the Indian Penal Code.
Section 193 states the
830
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[ 1967] 3 S.C.R.
piunishment for giving false evidence in any stage of a judicial
A
proceeding or fabricating false evidence for the purpose of being
used in any stage of judicial proceeding. Section 191 defines the
• offence of giving false evidence and s. 192 the offence of fabricating false evidence.
We. may ignore s. 191 .because here ad·
· mittedly there is no giving of false evidence as defined
i11 the
Penal Code. The offe11ce of fabricating false evidence comes into
B
existence when a person causes any circumstances to exist or
makes any false entry in any book or record or makes any document containing a false stateinent intending that such circumstance, false entry or false statement may appear in evidence i11
a judicial proceeding etc. and so appearing cause an erroneous
· opinion be formed touching a point material to the result of such
C
proceeding. The offence ls a general one and does not specify
the person or the kind of document. It may be any person and
the fabricated evidence may be In any form. Section 218 on the
othe~ hand deals with the Intentional preparation of a false record by a public servant with the object of saving or Injuring any
person or property. The difference between the two sections is
clearly noticeable. Section 192 deals wi:th judicial proceeding and
.D
the false evidence is intended to be used in a judicial proceeding.
Section 218 deals with public servants and there the gist is the
intentional preparation of a false record with a view of saving ol'
injuring any person or property. This need not have relation to
a judicial proceeding as such.
1
The bar of s. 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which
was invoked by Hnri Nath Singh arises thus. No Court can take
cognizance of an offence under s. t 93 when such offence is alleglld to have been committed In or in relntlon to any proceeding
in any Court except on the complaint In writing of such Court.
'Jn these cases, Harl Nath Singh is charged wlth abetment of three
offences committed by three public servant~ namely the two Lekh·
pals who have caused the preparation of an incorrect Khnsra
knowing it to be likely that they would thereby cause loss or injury
to Kamla Prasad Singh and the other vendees. Hari Nath Singh
is charged in the third case with abetment of the act of the Ahlmad
who is allegeu to have intentionally made a false entry about the
case intending that the false entry should be used in a judicial
proceeding and wrong opinion be formed about the date of the
institution of the proceeding.
It will appear from this that tho alleged offence committed
by the Ahlmad wns clearly in or in relation to n proceedinr;
'in Court.
In fact he made an incorrect entry about u c~se
actually in Court with the Intention th~t the dute of the Institution
of the proceeding may be taken to be November 9, t 962 nltbouv:h
the case was alleged to be Instituted after December 4.
1962.
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K. P. SINGH v. H. N. SINGH (Hida.vatul/a/1, 1.)
831
His offence (if any be proved against him) would fall within s. ·
192. Section 192 deals with fabrication of false evidence to be
usei!'in a judicial proceeding so as to cause an erroneous opinion
to be formed on a material point. Section 192 therefore com·
pletely covers the case against Ahlmad, and must cover the case
of Hari Nath Singh the alleged abettor. Section 218 Indian Penal
Code does not apply in this case, because the record was not
made with the object of saving or injuring any person or property. The offence of s. 192 Indian Penal Code is punishable
under s. 193 Indian Penal Code and the latter section is one of
the sections mentioned ins. 19S(l)(b) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, the gist of which has been reproduced above. The
decision of the High Court was therefore right that the Court
could not take cognizance of the offence alleged against the Ahl·
mad and his abettor, because the offence was fabricating of false
evidence in a case which wu in fact pending and the false entry
was made with the object that an erroneous opinion be formed
on a material point. Such a case could only be instituted by a
Court in which or in relation to which this offence was committed
and a private complaint was therefore incompetent.
The alleged offence against the Lekhpals and their abet~r
Hari Nath Singh in the other two cases is of a different order. The
offence of s. 218 Indian Penal Code is not a minor offence, included within s. 192. It Is a distinct offence which can be proceeded against without the bar of s. 195 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure. There is some resemblance between s. 192 and s. 218
tndlan Penal Code, because both deal with the preparation of a
false record. There the resemblance cea~es. Whereas In s. 192,
the record is prepared for use In a judicial proceeding with the
Intention that an erroneous opinion be formed regarding a mate·
rial point, the offence In s. 218 Is the preparation of a false record
by 11 public servant with the intention of saving or injuring any
person or property. The intention here was to save the property
from the vendees namely Kamla Prasad Singh and others. The
olfenc~ v.:as co.mplete ~e moment the false record was made with
th.e said mtentton and 1t was not necessary for the completion of
thts offence that the record should be used in a judicial proceeding
so ~ to cau~e an erroneous opinion to be formed touching on
G a point .material to t~e. result of such proceeding. In the Ahlmad's
case this latter cond111on Y:"as the. most Important ingredient. In
the case of the Lekhpals, 1t was immaterial whether the record
would be produc~ in a judicial proceeding or not so as to cause
an erroneous opinion to be formed. The intention wa~ to save
thf e property from the effects of the sale and the preparation of the
H
alse record was therefore sufficient from this point of view
In
other words, the offence of the Lekhpals (If anv be p;oved
l\&alnst them) wpuld fall within s. 218 and not s. t 92/ 193 of the
Indian Penal Code. It may fall Jn the latter sections If the entry
832
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1967] 3 S.C.R.
can be said to be in or in relation to a Court. This cannot be
said of the entries in the Khasra. As s. 218 is not named in
s. 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the private complaint
of Kamla Prasad Singh could be entertained by the Court and
there was no bar.
To hold that a record such as is contemplated in s. 218 Indian
Penal Code is always one intended for use in a Court would put
s. 218 Indian Penal Code in s. 195 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure which the Code of Criminal Procedure has not thought
of.
Therefore s. 218 Indian Penal Code must be treated as an
independent and distinct offence.
There could be a private complaint in respect of an offence under s. 218 Indian Penal Code.
The result is that the case against Hari Nath Singh of abetment of the act of the Ahlmad could not begin except on a complaint in writing of the Court concerned.
There was no bar to
the commencement of the case against Hari Nath Singh and the
two Lekhpals on the private complaint of Kamla Prasad Singh.
Accordingly Criminal Appeal No. 244 of 1964 shall be dismissed.
Criminal Appeals Nos. 245-246 of 1964 shall be allowed and
the concerned cases will be remitted to the Court of first instanc~
for trial according to law.
Y.P.
Appeal No. 244 dismissed.
Appeals 245-246 allowed.
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