SC to hear plea seeking display boards on legal consequences of false complaints
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list for hearing next week a PIL seeking directions to the Centre and state authorities to install display boards at public institutions, including police stations, court premises and municipal offices, informing people about the legal consequences of lodging false complaints.
Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay mentioned the matter before a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, seeking listing of his plea.
The top court had earlier issued notices to the Centre and states seeking their response to Upadhyay’s public interest litigation (PIL).
The plea has also sought directions for state authorities to inform the complainant about punishment for false complaints, false charges, false statements, false information and false evidence before accepting the complaint, to secure the freedom of speech and expression of innocent citizens.
Upadhyay has further sought directions to state authorities to take an undertaking or an affidavit that the averments made in the complaint, information, statement, evidence, and charges are true and correct, to control false complaints and frivolous cases.
“Empirical data compiled from NCRB reports demonstrates a stark disparity between cases registered and convictions under several special criminal laws, with acquittals running into disproportionately high numbers. This statistical pattern reveals a structural problem of false complaints, false charges and fabricated evidence clogging the criminal justice system,” the plea stated.
It referred to the Law Commission in Report number 277, saying that it “expressly identified false charges, fabricated evidence and wrongful prosecutions as primary causes of miscarriage of justice and violations of Article 21.”
“Chapter XIV of the BNS 2023 has specific provisions to address these menaces. But Centre and States have not taken apposite steps to implement them,” the plea filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey said.
The plea has also sought directions to inform a complainant about the punishment for filing false cases and false information.
“Direct respondents to take an undertaking/affidavit that averments made in Complaint, Statement, Evidence and Charges are true and correct, to control false complaints and frivolous cases,” the plea said.
