Section 340 : The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Procedure in cases mentioned in section 195
(1) When, upon an application made to it in this behalf or otherwise, any Court is of opinion that it is expedient in the interests of justice that an inquiry should be made into any offence referred to in clause (b) of subsection (1) of section 195, which appears to have been committed in or in relation to a proceeding in that Court or, as the case may be, in respect of a document produced or given in evidence in a proceeding in that Court, such Court may, after such preliminary inquiry, if any, as it thinks necessary,-
(a) record a finding to that effect;
(b) make a complaint thereof in writing;
(c) send it to a Magistrate of the first class having jurisdiction;
(d) take sufficient security for the appearance of the accused before such Magistrate, or if the alleged offence is non- bailable and the Court thinks it necessary so to do, send the accused in custody to such Magistrate; and
(e) bind over any person to appear and give evidence before such Magistrate.
(2) The power conferred on a Court by subsection (1) in respect of an offence may, in any case where that Court has neither made a complaint under subsection (1) in respect of that offence nor rejected an application for the making of such complaint, be exercised by the Court to which such former Court is subordinate within the meaning of subsection (4) of section 195.
(3) A complaint made under this section shall be signed,-
(a) where the Court making the complaint is a High Court, by such officer of the Court as the Court may appoint;
(b) in any other case, by the presiding officer of the Court.
(4) In this section,” Court” has the same meaning as in section 195.
***
Condition: When a party to the lawsuit uses false and fabricated material as evidence and produced it before the court he commits the offence of perjury. In this condition, the court takes cognisance of the said offence either upon the application filed by the opposite party under section 340 of the Code of Criminal procedure or suo motu. The person who has misled the court through false evidence he must be prosecuted for the offence of perjury. This section provides a procedure to take cognisance of such an offence committed in the court proceeding.
Legal effect: The guilty party is prosecuted for the offence of perjury. The court takes cognisance and if it thinks fit, may conduct a preliminary inquiry to find out whether prima facie the offence of perjury has been committed.
Procedure: The party to the proceeding makes an application under section 340 CrPC to the court in which the proceeding is pending. The application contains the full particulars about the false evidence which has been used in that proceeding. The Court may conduct a preliminary inquiry for its satisfaction that prima facie the offence of perjury has been committed. The court after recording its finding makes a complaint to the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class. The said Magistrate proceeds on the complaint under section 343 of the Criminal Procedure as if it were instituted on a police report.
