The professional Liar

FALSE TESTIMONY

What Is a False Testimony?

When an individual willfully makes a false statement during a judicial proceeding.

Importance of Witness

Witness is an important constituent of the administration of justice. By giving evidence linking to the harge of the offence the witness performs a sacred duty of assisting the court to discover the truth.

Meaning of perjury 

noun: lyng under oath, false statement, forswearing, bearing false witness, giving false testimony, false oath, oath breaking, false swearing, violation of an oath, willful falsehood The witness is now facing charges of perjury


Before any witness is placed on a stand or invited to give a written testimony, he or she must swear an oath to answer all questions truthfully. Failure to do so could result in inaccurate trial results, which can lead to false imprisonment for defendants or lack of justice for victims of crimes. For instance, if one lies under oath about the location of a defendant in a murder trial, thus giving him a false, then he may be found innocent even if he is guilty. This allows a murderer to go free while leaving the victim’s family with little closure.

False testimony also may be used to describe a situation when one knowingly lies on a written statement aside from a formal court testimony. This includes things like tax returns, which are protected by an “under penalty of perjury” agreement in some nations. The person doing the return can be convicted of false testimony if he or she knowingly lies when filling out the forms.

The rate of false testimony convictions are rare in most countries. One reason for this is that it is hard to prove that someone is lying. For instance, if someone claims that he did not see a defendant at the scene of a crime; aside from video tape with both individuals recorded in the same place at the same time, proving the witness a liar would be near impossible.

A conviction of false testimony can result in prison time in most countries. In the United States and many European nations like the UK, perjury is considered a felony offense and warrants anywhere from 5-7 years in prison. In some other countries, such as France and Germany, witnesses are not permitted to speak under oath and therefore are not able to commit legal perjury.

As with any crime, false testimony must be proven to have been premeditated. Since human error is common and often accidental, one cannot be convicted of perjury if misinformation is given unknowingly due to personal perception or distorted memory. This is another factor in the low instance of perjury convictions.

INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT: 

The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed by the British parliament in 1872, during the British Raj, contains a set of rules and allied issues governing admissibility of evidence in the Indian courts of law.

According to the BIBLE:

Matthew 19:18

"Which ones?" he inquired. Jesus replied, "'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,

Isaiah 8:20 : King James Version.

To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Exodus 23:1

"Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.



According to the ISLAM :

In Islam, the greatest sin that can commit according to the Holy Quran and hadith is the false testimony. Islam seriously forbids giving of false testimony and considers it one of the gravest sins.

Hadith Sahih Muslim “The Book of Faith” 158:

It is narrated on the authority of 'Abdur-Rahman b. Abu Bakra that his father said: We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) that he observed: Should I not inform you about the most grievous of the grave sins? (The Holy Prophet) repeated it three times, and then said: Associating anyone with Allah, disobedience to parents, false testimony or false utterance. The Holy Prophet was reclining, then he sat up, and he repeated it so many times that we wished that he should become silent.

It is evident from the above hadith of Prophet (PBUH) and below holy Quran verse that giving false testimony is the gravest of sins, it is so grave that the Prophet (PBUH) even considered it as grave as shirk. Therefore, every Human must be as truthful as possible and avoid false testimony in any case.

“O people! Giving false testimony is equal to ascribing partners to Allah.” He then recited, “ So avoid the filth of idols and avoid false statement.” (Holy Quran : Al-Hajj 22:30)