Affidavit verification requirements bar reliance on a bail application sworn by an unauthorised advocate's clerk.

An affidavit supporting a bail application must be sworn by a person with personal knowledge or lawful authority, and statements based on information or belief must disclose their source. Under Order XIX Rule 3 CPC and the Orissa High Court Rules, petitions and affidavits in original proceedings should be verified by the petitioner, declarant, recognised agent, advocate, or another duly authorised person, with only limited exceptions. An advocate's clerk has no general authority to depose for the petitioner, so an affidavit sworn by such a clerk is procedurally defective and cannot be relied upon. The application therefore fails at the threshold for non-compliance with affidavit requirements.

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Issues: Whether a bail application can be entertained when the supporting affidavit is sworn by an advocate's clerk who lacks personal knowledge of the facts and is not otherwise authorised to depose for the petitioner.

Analysis: An affidavit must be confined to facts within the deponent's personal knowledge, and where statements rest on information or belief, the source of such information must be disclosed. Order XIX Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, together with the Orissa High Court Rules governing affidavits, requires that petitions and affidavits be sworn by the petitioner, declarant, recognised agent, advocate, or another duly authorised person, subject only to the limited exception for matters arising from subordinate court records. An advocate's clerk has no general authority to verify or swear affidavits in original proceedings, and an affidavit so filed is procedurally defective and cannot be relied upon.

Conclusion: The supporting affidavit was invalid, and the bail application was liable to be dismissed.

Final Conclusion: The application failed at the threshold for non-compliance with the affidavit requirements, leaving the petitioner free to seek fresh relief in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: An affidavit in original proceedings must be sworn by a person having personal knowledge or lawful authority, and a clerk of counsel cannot substitute for the litigant unless a specific rule expressly permits it.

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