The Allahabad High Court has observed that making factual mistakes in equivocation answers by not mentioning the crimes of the accused in the affidavit amounts to obstruction of justice.
A single-judge bench of Justice Manju Rani Chauhan heard a Criminal Misc Anticipatory Bail application U/S 438 CRPC filed by Pawan Singh Bhati.
The AGA submitted that some criminal cases are pending against the applicant, however, a perusal of Short Counter Affidavit signed and dictated by Syed Ali Murtza, Additional Government Advocate also showing name of Manish Goyal, Senior Advocate, Addl Advocate General, discloses no such averment in that regard, whereas Counter Affidavit only says that the applicant is absconding and his whereabouts are not known to the Investigating Officer.
Similar situation arose in another case, wherein in a bail application also no detail of pending criminal cases against the applicant therein, is mentioned, which shows equivocation at the end of the State.
In order to obviate emerging inconvenience that stands as an impediment in dispensation of justice, Government Advocate is required to stress upon to lay out some scheme to do away with undoubtedly occurring factual errors in drafting counter affidavits which the Court finds in most of the cases are bereft of essential factual position or in disregard to instructions obtained from the concerned officers or Department.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the petition on January 31, 2023.