Forgery of Documents

FORGERY OF DOCUMENTS
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION:
Triable by Magistrate of First Class

BRIEF:
Under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 Criminal Breach of Trust has been defined as under:

Section 463: Forgery:
Whoever makes any false documents or false electronic record or part of a document or electronic record, with intent to cause damage or injury, to the public or to any person, or to support any claim or title, or to cause any person to part with property, or to enter into any express or implied contract, or with intent to commit fraud or that fraud may be committed, commits forgery.

Section 464: Making a false document:
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 3electronic 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, signed, sealed, executed or affixed; or

Secondly—Who, without lawful authority, dishonestly or fraudulently, by cancellation or otherwise, alters a document or an electronic record in any  material part thereof, after it has been made, executed or affixed with electronic signature either by himself or by any other person, whether such person be living or dead at the time of such alteration; or

Thirdly—Who dishonestly or fraudulently causes any person to sign, seal, execute or alter a document or an electronic record or to affix his electronic signature on any electronic record knowing that such person by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication cannot, or that by reason of deception practised upon him, he does not know the contents of the document or electronic record or the nature of the alteration.

Section 470: Forged document or electronic record:
A false [document or electronic record] made wholly or in part by forgery is designated “a forged [document or electronic record]”.

Under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 the following sections are related to the offence and punishment of forgery:

Section	Offense	Punishment	Cogni-zance	Bail	Compoundable
465	Forgery	Imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both	Non- cognizable	Bailable	Non- Compoundable
466	Forgery of record of Court or of Public register, etc.	Imprisonment for 7 years and fine	Non- Cognizable	Non- bailable	Non- Compoundable
467	Forgery of valuable security, will, etc.	Imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for 10 years and fine	Non – cognizable [for will, etc] Cognizable [movable property]	Non- bailable	Non- Compoundable
468	Forgery for purpose of cheating	Imprisonment for 7 years and fine	Cognizable	Non-bailable	Non- Compoundable
469	Forgery for purpose of harming reputation	Imprisonment for 3 years and fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Non – Compoundable
471	Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record	Punishment of forgery of such document i.e., Imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both	Cognizable	Bailable	Non – Compoundable
472	Making or possessing counterfeit seal, etc., with intent to commit forgery punishable under section 467	Imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for 7 years and fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Non- Compoundable
473	Making or possessing counterfeit seal, etc., with intent to commit forgery punishable otherwise	Imprisonment for 7 years and fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Non-Compoundable
474	Having possession of document described in section 466 or 467, knowing it to be forged and intending to use it as genuine	Part 1: S. 466 – Imprisonment for 7 years and fine Part 2: S. 467 – Imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for 7 years and fine	Cognizable     Non - Cognizable	Bailable	Non- Compoundable
475	Counterfeiting device or mark used for authenticating documents described in section 467, or possessing counterfeit marked material	Imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for 7 years and fine	Non - Cognizable	Non - Bailable	Non - Compoundable
476	Counterfeiting device or mark used for authenticating documents other than those described in section 467, or possessing counterfeit marked material	Imprisonment for 7 years and fine	Non - Cognizable	Non - bailable	Non – Compoundable
477	Fraudulent cancellation, destruction, etc., of will, authority to adopt, or valuable security	Imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for 7 years and fine	Non - Cognizable	Non - bailable	Non – Compoundable
477A	Falsification of accounts	Imprisonment for 7 years, or fine, or both	Non - Cognizable	Bailable	Non - Compoundable