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Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter XVIII: Of Offences Relating to Documents and to Property Marks

Section 464: Making a false document

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.

Now in the BNS section 335 (Making a false document)

In plain words

A person makes a false document or electronic record if they dishonestly or fraudulently make, sign, seal or execute a document, make or transmit an electronic record, affix an electronic signature, or make a mark of execution or authenticity, intending it to be believed that it was made by or with the authority of someone who they know did not make or authorise it.

  • The official text shown here is incomplete. The full section also covers altering a document after it was made, and getting someone to sign or alter a document when they cannot understand it because of unsoundness of mind, intoxication or deception.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

[A person is said to make a false document or false electronic record— First.—Who dishonestly or fraudulently—

(a) makes, signs, seals or executes a document or part of a document;

(b) makes or transmits any electronic record or part of any electronic record;

(c) affixes any [electronic signature] on any electronic record;

(d) makes any mark denoting the execution of a document or the authenticity of the [electronic signature], with the intention of causing it to be believed that such document or part of document, electronic record or [electronic signature] was made, signed, sealed, executed, transmitted or affixed by or by the authority of a person by whom or by whose authority he knows that it was not made, singed, sealed, executed or affixed; or

Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.

Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 464