PPC § 191 — Giving false evidence

Statutory text (English)

Whoever being legally bound by an oath or by an express
provision of law to state the truth, or being bound by law to make a declaration upon any subject,
makes any statement which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not
believe to be true, is said to give false evidence.

Explanation 1.— A statement is within the meaning of this section, whether it is made verbally
or otherwise.

Explanation 2.— A false statement as to the belief of the person attesting is within the meaning
of this section, and a person may be guilty of giving false evidence by stating that he believes a thing
which he does not believe, as well as by stating that he knows a thing which he does not know.
Illustrations
(a) A, in support of a just claim which B has against Z for one thousand rupees, falsely
swears on a trial that he heard Z admit the justice of B’s claim. A has given false
evidence.
(b) A, being bound by an oath to state the truth, states that he believes a certain signature
to be the handwriting of Z, when he does not believe it to be the handwriting of Z. Here
A states that which he knows to be false, and therefore gives false evidence.
(c) A, knowing the general character of Z’s handwriting, states that he believes a certain
signature to be the handwriting of Z ; A in good faith believing it to be so. Here A’s
statement is merely as to his belief, and is true as to his belief, and therefore, although
the signature may not be the handwriting of Z. A has not given false evidence.
(d) A, being bound by an oath to state the truth, states that he knows that Z was at a
particular place on a particular day, not knowing anything upon the subject. A gives
false evidence whether Z was at that place on the day named or not.
(e) A, an interpreter or translator, gives or certifies as a true interpretation or translation of
a statement or document, which he is bound by oath to interpret or translate truly, that
which is not and which he does not believe to be a true interpretation or translation. A
has given false evidence.

Source and verification

Source citation: PPC (Act XLV of 1860) s.191: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE PAKISTAN PENAL CODE' (Act No. XLV of 1860), p. 80, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 80) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment version…

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