A Criminologist's Diary-40

A Criminologist’s Diary-40

Account Criminology and Criminal Ju...

PUBLIC LIES and PERJURY

Perjury in law is “the willful giving of false testimony under oath or affirmation, before a competent tribunal, upon a point material to a legal inquiry”. In simple language, telling a lie or falsehood before a Court of Law is called ‘perjury’ which is a punishable offence in India. Many do give false testimony and they escape punishment. Everybody knows about perjury. But all take a lenient, liberal, tolerating or indifferent attitude to the perjurer. In street corner meetings, many politicians speak lies and falsehood. The people are fooled, cheated, misinformed and the offence of telling a lie or falsehood in public addresses is not a punishable offence. In religion, telling a lie or falsehood is a sin and in many religious platforms, the so-named religious speakers (or better, the speakers in religious garb) say a lot of lies, falsehood, stories and concocted stories containing only lies and lies only to convince the followers of their religious faiths. Such lies are treated as ‘VIRTUES’ and not lies. Precisely therefore, telling lies or falsehood in ‘Religion-Talks’ are not made punishable offences. Many who appear in press conferences speak lies and only lies and they are not made punishable offences. In media interviews, lies and lies are spoken, but no offence is committed. Hence, the lies and falsehood have received public acceptance and the sanctity of virtues and not sins or offences in any way under any interpretations what so ever.

In these days, there are channel discussions, channel interviews, channel live telecasts in the visual media. The interviewed tell lies after lies and accuse many for telling lies and falsehood. These liars are supported by vested interests who continuously tell lies and lies and they repeat the lies without any shame and interruptions. People are either confused or convinced of the lies and falsehood and these channel talkers leave the platforms with their ‘HEADS HIGH’ for telling lies, lies and lies to the channel viewers. It is also made no offence in India hitherto.

Now comes the QUESTION;” If telling a lie, many lies and lies or falsehood before a court of law during a trial or otherwise is punished under the law of perjury, why not the lying in the media or in public addresses or religious platform speeches or lying to the public in whatever form be made an offence?” As it is not made an offence, many are not afraid of telling any number of lies and falsehood before the public in public addresses, media interviews, media conferences, and religious platforms or in statements issued to the media/press. This sort of offence should be called the offence of PUBLIC LYING as we call the lying in courts ‘Perjury’.

Hence, if perjury is defined as what is given above, then the lying to the public must be defined as a ‘lying to the public by whatever means, consciously or in a calculated way to protect the self interest or vested interest.’ In every sense, it is a more heinous crime than perjury and therefore, the punishment should also be more severe than what is given for perjury in the penal laws.