Karnataka High Court Gangawwa vs State of Mysore (Equivalent Citations: AIR 1969 Kant 114, AIR 1969 Mys 114, 1969 CriLJ 496)
6)........... I have already referred to Illustration (b) of S. 236 Cr.P.C. which states that a person may be charged in the alternative and convicted of intentionally giving false evidence, although it cannot be proved which of the contradictory statements was false. Sri Vijaya Shankar has also relied on Umrao Lal v. State, , which is an authority for the proposition that in a prosecution under S. 193 IPC. if the prosecution succeeds in proving that the accused in the witness box deliberately made two statements which are so contradictory and irreconcilable with each other, that both cannot possibly be true, he can be convicted of perjury even without its being proved which one of them was not true.
10)........ With regard to the contention that the statement under S. 512 Cr.P.C. cannot be made use of when the petitioner is alive and could give evidence, it may be pointed out that this has reference only to the absconding accused in the said proceedings. There is no prohibition for making use of a statement given by the petitioner under section 512 Cr.P.C. against herself in proceedings instituted under section 193 IPC. With regard to the contention that S. 512 proceedings are neither inquiry, nor trial, it may be pointed out that S. 479A Cr.P.C. does not refer to any inquiry or trial. All that it states is "giving false evidence in any stage of the judicial proceeding". What is a 'judicial proceeding' is defined in S. 4(m) Cr.P.C. it reads thus:
"'Judicial proceeding' includes any proceeding in the course of which evidence is or may be legally taken on oath."