Drafting of an affidavit

An affidavit is a statement made by a person before the court or an appropriate

adjudicating authority, wherein the deponent (the person who makes the
statement) states the facts and information related to the matter in dispute, in
his knowledge and swears it to be true. There are various provisions in Indian
law, which explain what an affidavit is and the proper procedure that must be
followed while submitting it before the court. 

Order XIX (19) of CPC

Rule 1-A court can at any time, for which reasons can be recorded, order that an affidavit

shall be submitted to prove any facts or circumstances as the court may wish and find

reasonable.

Rule 3 describes the situation or circumstances which can be explained

through an affidavit. It says that affidavits will be confined to such

facts that the deponent is able to prove through his own knowledge. 

Importance of an affidavit

As we have seen above, an affidavit forms an essential part of the arsenal of

the judicial system, in testing the veracity of the statements made by the
deponent and holding them to their truth. In absence of an affidavit, anyone
could make false claims with the intention to mislead the courts. Although the
drafting of an affidavit would appear to be fairly simple, it is the contents of the
affidavit that are of the utmost importance. It must be remembered while
drafting that, the affidavit must relate to and connect with the said facts of the
case, it should state what the deponent personally knows and it should contain
a paragraph on verification, signed in presence of the appropriate authority.

As we have seen that an affidavit is the testimony of the deponent, sworn by

himself to be true, on the basis of which the court proceeds with trial and
examines cases on its merit, hence it becomes very vital that people speak the
truth while deposing, therefore, to prevent rampant abuse of process and court
resources, any act of lying or giving false evidence under oath is a punishable
offence under Section 191 of IPC.

Section 193 of IPC : Whoever intentionally gives false evidence in any stage of
a judicial proceeding or fabricates false evidence for using it in a proceeding,
will be liable to be punished with imprisonment up to 7 years.

Essential elements of an affidavit 

Certain aspects of an affidavit are of vital importance to be included, so as to
validity to the said affidavit.

1. The declaration should be made by a legal person,

2. Contents of the affidavit should relate and connect with the said facts
of the case,
3. The declaration must be in writing,
4. The language of the said declaration must be in the first person,
5. The affidavit must be signed or affirmed, before a Magistrate or other
authorised and appropriate officer.

drafting an affidavit
1. At the top, write the name of the court, tribunal in which the affidavit is
to be submitted, along with the allotted case/suit no.
2. Mention the names of parties in brief.
3.  As a heading/title of the document, mention ‘AFFIDAVIT’ in the bold
and underlined font.
4. Thereafter give the details of the deponent (the person who is
testifying as to the truth of submissions made by him, in the main
petition) such as the name of the deponent and his father, age of
deponent and his residential address, followed by ‘Do solemnly affirm
and declare as under.’  
5. In the first paragraph after the introduction, the deponent has to
mention that he/she is the plaintiff or the defendant (as the case may
be) in the suit for which the affidavit is being submitted and he has to
make a declaration that he is fully aware and conversant with the facts
of the case and can testify for the same.
 6. In the second paragraph, mention that the petition or submission made
in the petition has been drafted by the counsel of the deponent and
that the contents have been read over in vernacular language, with
detailed explanation made to the deponent, along with consequences
of the same, been explained to him.
7. Mention in brief the circumstances of the suit or the submission made
by the deponent. In case the main petition already contains the details,
the same need not be repeated in the affidavit and one can mention
that ‘contents of the petition are not being repeated here for sake of
brevity and therefore one shall consider the same as a part of this
affidavit.’
8. Lastly, state that it is the deponent’s true and correct statement,
followed by a paragraph about verification, which will state that
contents of the affidavit are true and correct to the deponent’s
knowledge and that nothing material has been concealed.

Section 139 of CPC: who can adminiter

oath
Any court or magistrate
Notary appointed u/Notaries Act
Any officer or other person whom a HC
appoints
By any court
 IN THE COURT_____, at

CIVIL SUIT NO._______ OF 2022

IN THE MATTER OF:   

    Xyz                                                                                       …. Plaintiff

VERSUS

   Abc                                                                                        ……
Defendant

AFFIDAVIT

I, __________S/O__________, aged _____ years, R/O

______________________, do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as under:

1. That I am the plaintiff in the above-noted suit and fully acquainted with
facts of the case and able to depose about the same.
2. That the accompanying suit/plaint has been drafted by my counsel on
my instructions and contents of the plaint have been read over and
explained to me and I have understood the meaning and implications
thereof and the facts stated therein are correct.
3. That the contents of the suit are not being repeated here for the sake
of brevity and same shall be considered as part of this affidavit also.

              Date                                                                                         
DEPONENT

VERIFICATION:

Verified at ______ on this______day of _____May 2022, that the contents of

the above affidavit are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and
nothing material has been concealed.
                                                                                                         
DEPONENT