CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has expressed serious concern over non-verification or authentication of documents by advocates and even advocate’s clerks as a result of which forged documents are placed before it to get relief in cases.
While deeming such action as “severe form of contemptuous attitude”, the division bench of Justice SK Sahoo and Justice Chittaranjan Dash directed the advocates or advocate’s clerks to properly verify the documents before placing them on record. “It is also better to ask the party concerned to swear the affidavit,” the bench said.
The observation came in a case in which a forged school transfer certificate was used by a lawyer in an appeal by one Sanatan Hessa for re-consideration of his conviction for murder, on the basis of age-factor and quashing the trial court’s order of imprisonment for life.
The advocate’s clerk Danardan Sethi pleaded before the court that he carried out the instruction of the advocate and had sworn the affidavit wherein certain documents were enclosed. He had no knowledge about the genuineness of those documents and on bona fide belief and good faith, he had annexed the same to the application.
Advocate Nityananda Panda on his part pleaded that the forged document was provided by Hessa’s brother-in-law Gania Gagarai and he had accepted it on good faith as genuine and annexed the same to the application in the appeal.
The court initiated criminal contempt proceedings against Gagarai and ordered his detention. Gagarai remained in jail custody from September 3 till the proceeding was dropped after he tendered unconditional apology on September 24.
The bench, however, took stern note of the fact that forged medical documents, forged date of birth certificates and school certificates are being filed in different cases to get relief, and most of the times, the advocate’s clerks swear affidavit in filing such documents for which they are made accountable in case of any forgery.
Accordingly, the bench said, “It is the responsibility of the advocate and the advocate’s clerks to bring correct state of affairs before the court and their attempt should not be to misguide the court in any manner. If the advocate or the advocate’s clerk has no personal knowledge about a particular document which is produced by a party, then it is to be verified properly before bringing the same on record and it is also better to ask the concerned party to swear the affidavit.”