Six-month jail in rare sentencing for false evidence

Shrimant Kore, who was convicted, is the brother of a BJP worker who was killed in 2009.

A magistrate court has sentenced a man to six months of rigorous imprisonment, in a rare sentencing for testifying falsely before a court, in this case the Bombay HC. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000.

Shrimant Kore, who was convicted, is the brother of a BJP worker who was killed in 2009. As per the complaint filed by Kore, a Congress MLA and others of the party had assaulted him and shot his brother. He had deposed against the accused before the sessions court and the matter had ended in 2013 with conviction of three years for assault. One of the convicts had then filed an appeal for suspension of their sentence. The first appeal was rejected. In a second appeal, Kore had submitted an affidavit which stated that he had filed the initial complaint out of frustration on seeing the dead body of his brother.

The HC had issued summons to him. He had appeared before it and stated that he had filed the FIR under political pressure and that now the political equations had changed in his region. He had filed the present affidavit to help the accused get his job back as teacher, which he had lost due to the conviction.

Metropolitan Magistrate HU Joshi said in the order that the accused for the reasons best known to him, had ventured into the act of giving false evidence before the HC and is therefore guilty of the offence punishable under section 193 of the Indian Penal Code (punishment for false evidence).

The court said that considering the nature of allegations against him, it would not be proper to show leniency. “It is pertinent to note that a deliberate misstatement in a court of justice, whether it tends to endanger the life and property of others or to defeat and impede the progress of justice, is not an offence that should be lightly passed over.” Leniency shown would send a wrong message to society and encourage others to commit such acts, it said.

Noting the explanation given by Kore before the HC, it said it appears that he was very casual and took his actions very lightly. “Even if the accused has forgotten about the death of his brother and plight of his parents and wife and children of deceased brother, the court cannot turn a blind eye to the same.” It quoted philosopher Edmund Burke stating, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” and noted that, therefore, the HC had taken a serious note of Kore’s conduct and directed action.