In Brief
In matrimonial proceedings, the appellant made statements in an anticipatory bail application before the High Court. When the wife later filed an FIR with different allegations, the High Court initiated prosecution for perjury under Section 340 of the Cr.P.C. The Supreme Court held that perjury prosecution should only be initiated in exceptional circumstances requiring deliberate falsehood tested against unimpeachable evidence. A preliminary police report filed two days after the FIR cannot serve as unimpeachable evidence. Since evidence in the underlying case had not been led, the statements could not be definitively tested as false. The Court set aside the High Court's order and allowed the appeal.
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