Home > Recent Judgements > Justice Is Blind But Judges Are Not Visionless: Orissa High Court Warns Advocates To Presenting Fake Certificate To Prove Murder Convict’s Juvenile Status
Oct 10, 2024
BACKGROUND
In the case between Jata @ Sanatan Hessa v. State of Odisha. In this case, a person convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment produced forged documents allegedly from a school to the Orissa High Court to support his juvenile claims for leniency. It was traced by the State that this document was fake and the convict has never studied in the said school. The advocate of the accused facilitated the filing of the forged document and the accused person’s brother-in-law was involved in the crime. While her brother-in-law has since apologized and the contempt charge pianists has been withdrawn against her Course, the Course rebuke the lawyer for such professional malfeasance and pointed out that it is the duty of all lawyers to file only genuine papers before the Court.
ISSUES
- Whether the submission of a fake school transfer certificate founds a serious form of contempt of court?
- Whether the appellant’s claim of juvenility, based on a fake document, can be considered valid for leniency in sentencing?
- Whether the Court should take lenient action against the brother-in-law of the appellant who submitted the forged document?
WARNING TO ADVOCATE & HIS CLERK
As it was about to dispose of the issue, the Court took a harsh view against the Advocate burdened with the fraud on the Court. It observed that Advocates at times file medical/school certificates which are fake to court’s favour. The courts are quite often dependent on advocates and therefore believe them who are court officials.
The Bench also recalled the expression made in the case of Bhabani Shankar Tripathy v. Secretary to government Of Orissa, Home Department & Anr. the legal fraternity is reminded of the remarks made comparing the court to a temple and advocates to the priests.
The Court was very displeased and said that when the priests desecrate the sanctity of the temple, this, is an awful disloyalty to the basic values which bind the practice of law. It imported such violations resembling a violation, stressing that an Advocate does not simply disobey the Constitution when advocating against these values.
JUDGEMENT
The responsibility to convey the correct position of facts before the Court and to do nothing that misleads the Court is the duty of both the Advocate and her/his clerk. If an Advocate or their clerk does not possess actual knowledge of how a particular document put forth by a party does not become a part of the records unless its authenticity is ascertained.
In its judgement, the Court also restated some rules from the judgment of the case, Thabir Sagar v. State of Odisha, where the proposal of One Judge Bench was that the clerks of Advocates should not be allowed to make affidavits on oath. Going by this earlier instruction, the Advocate in this case did not make known the source of a particular certificate which caused a lot of unnecessary litigation.
The reason was that the juvenile claim was based on a forged certificate. Therefore, the desired relief was refused and application in interim was dismissed.
ANALYSIS
The Court found that the presentation of a forged school transfer certificate to obtain the benefit of parricide being a juvenile, constituted a grave contempt of the court. The Court further held that there was a need for every legal practitioner to ensure that the documents in possession are authentic and reprimanded the appellant’s counsel for bearing or being an accessory to the offense. The appellant’s brother-in-law who tendered the document was handed a mere warning and no consequences were visited upon him as the pleading was rejected since it was hinged on false information or evidence. The Court pointed out the risk of such unfounded conduct since lawyers, who are akin to the priests in a temple, uphold the legal profession, and with such actions there is treachery to the essence of the temple, the legal system itself.
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