Law and You > Criminal Laws > Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 > Chapter XVIII > Making False Document (S. 335 BNS)
The act of creating, using, or possessing false documents is a serious offense under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The crime of making false document not only undermines the integrity of legal and financial transactions but also erodes public trust in institutional systems. In today’s world, where digital documentation and electronic records play a pivotal role, the scope and impact of document falsification have expanded significantly, making it a critical area of legal scrutiny. This article delves into the legal framework surrounding the offense of making false documents under the BNS, exploring the key provisions, essential elements of the offense, and the penalties involved. Whether it’s forging signatures, falsifying financial records, or creating fake identification documents, the law aims to uphold the sanctity of authentic documentation and deter fraudulent activities.
S. 335 BNS
Making a False Document:
A person is said to make a false document or false electronic record—
(A) Who dishonestly or fraudulently—
(i) makes, signs, seals or executes a document or part of a document;
(ii) makes or transmits any electronic record or part of any electronic record;
(iii) affixes any electronic signature on any electronic record;
(iv) 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
(B) 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
(C) 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.
Ingredients of S. 335(A)
- An accused is making a false document or false electronic record;
- He does it intentionally, dishonestly or fraudulently;
- He does it intentionally 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; and
- He makes, signs, seals or executes a document or part of a document; or
- He makes or transmits any electronic record or part of any electronic record; or
- He affixes any electronic signature on any electronic record; or
- He makes any mark denoting the execution of a document or the authenticity of the electronic signature.
Understanding Ingredients with Attached Illustrations:
Illustration (a):
A has a letter of credit upon B for rupees 10,000, written by Z. A, in order to defraud B, adds cipher to the 10,000, and makes the sum 1,00,000 intending that it may be believed by B that Z so wrote the letter. A has committed forgery.
Illustration (b):
A, without Z’s authority, affixes Z’s seal to a document purporting to be a conveyance of an estate from Z to A, with the intention of selling the estate to B and thereby of obtaining from B the purchase-money. A has committed forgery.
Ingredients of S. 335(B) BNS:
- A person is making a false document or false electronic record;
- He does it intentionally, dishonestly or fraudulently;
- He has no lawful authority to do so;
- He does it by cancellation or otherwise, alters a document or an electronic record in any material part thereof
- He is doing it 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.
Understanding Ingredients with Attached Illustrations:
Illustration (c):
A picks up a cheque on a banker signed by B, payable to bearer, but without any sum having been inserted in the cheque. A fraudulently fills up the cheque by inserting the sum of ten thousand rupees. A commits forgery.
Illustration (d):
A leaves with B, his agent, a cheque on a banker, signed by A, without inserting the sum payable and authorises B to fill up the cheque by inserting a sum not exceeding ten thousand rupees for the purpose of making certain payments. B fraudulently fills up the cheque by inserting the sum of twenty thousand rupees. B commits forgery.
Illustration (e):
A draws a bill of exchange on himself in the name of B without B’s authority, intending to discount it as a genuine bill with a banker and intending to take up the bill on its maturity. Here, as A draws the bill with intent to deceive the banker by leading him to suppose that he had the security of B, and thereby to discount the bill, A is guilty of forgery.
Illustration (f):
Z’s will contains these words—“I direct that all my remaining property be equally divided between A, B and C.” A dishonestly scratches out B’s name, intending that it may be believed that the whole was left to himself and C. A has committed forgery.
Illustration (g):
A endorses a Government promissory note and makes it payable to Z or his order by writing on the bill the words “Pay to Z or his order” and signing the endorsement. B dishonestly erases the words “Pay to Z or his order”, and thereby converts the special endorsement into a blank endorsement. B commits forgery.
Ingredients of S. 335(C) BNS:
- A person 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;
- He does it intentionally, dishonestly or fraudulently;
- He knows such a person is of unsoundness of mind or intoxicated or cannot, understand 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.
Understanding Ingredients with Attached Illustrations:
Illustration (h):
A sells and conveys an estate to Z. A afterwards, in order to defraud Z of his estate, executes a conveyance of the same estate to B, dated six months earlier than the date of the conveyance to Z, intending it to be believed that he had conveyed the estate to B before he conveyed it to Z. A has committed forgery.
Illustration (i):
Z dictates his will to A. A intentionally writes down a different legatee from the legatee named by Z, and by representing to Z that he has prepared the will according to his instructions, induces Z to sign the will. A has committed forgery.
Illustration (j):
A writes a letter and signs it with B’s name without B’s authority, certifying that A is a man of good character and in distressed circumstances from unforeseen misfortune, intending by means of such letter to obtain alms from Z and other persons. Here, as A made a false document in order to induce Z to part with property, A has committed forgery.
Illustration (k):
A without B’s authority writes a letter and signs it in B’s name certifying to A’s character, intending thereby to obtain employment under Z. A has committed forgery in as much as he intended to deceive Z by the forged certificate, and thereby to induce Z to enter into an express or implied contract for service.
Explanations Attached to Section 335 BNS:
Explanation 1:
A man’s signature of his own name may amount to forgery.
Illustrations:
(a) A signs his own name to a bill of exchange, intending that it may be believed that the bill was drawn by another person of the same name. A has committed forgery.
(b) A writes the word “accepted” on a piece of paper and signs it with Z’s name, in order that B may afterwards write on the paper a bill of exchange drawn by B upon Z, and negotiate the bill as though it had been accepted by Z. A is guilty of forgery; and if B, knowing the fact, draws the bill upon the paper pursuant to A’s intention, B is also guilty of forgery
(c) A picks up a bill of exchange payable to the order of a different person of the same name. A endorses the bill in his own name, intending to cause it to be believed that it was endorsed by the person to whose order it was payable; here A has committed forgery.
(d) A purchases an estate sold under execution of a decree against B. B, after the seizure of the estate, in collusion with Z, executes a lease of the estate, to Z at a nominal rent and for a long period and dates the lease six months prior to the seizure, with intent to defraud A, and to cause it to be believed that the lease was granted before the seizure. B, though he executes the lease in his own name, commits forgery by antedating it.
(e) A, a trader, in anticipation of insolvency, lodges effects with B for A’s benefit, and with intent to defraud his creditors; and in order to give a colour to the transaction, writes a promissory note binding himself to pay to B a sum for value received, and antedates the note, intending that it may be believed to have been made before A was on the point of insolvency. A has committed forgery under the first head of the definition.
Explanation 2:
The making of a false document in the name of a fictitious person, intending it to be believed that the document was made by a real person, or in the name of a deceased person, intending it to be believed that the document was made by the person in his lifetime, may amount to forgery.
Illustration:
A draws a bill of exchange upon a fictitious person, and fraudulently accepts the bill in the name of such fictitious person with intent to negotiate it. A commits forgery.
Explanation 3:
For the purposes of this section, the expression “affixing electronic signature” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000).
In Queen Empress v. Pera Raja, (1890) 13 Mad. 27 case, where the accused advertised that a book on English idioms by Robert S. Williams was ready and would be despatched against money sent. The accused wrote a letter under the signature of Robert S. Williams, that Robert S. Williams requested the postal authorities to pay money sent to R.S. Williams to one Seshagiri Rao and got the money himself signing receipts himself as Seshagiri Rao. It was found that both R.S. Williams and Seshagiri Rao were fictitious beings. The Court held that the accused was guilty of cheating and forgery.
In Mohd Ibrahim v. State of Bihar, (2009) 8 SCC 751 case, the Supreme Court observed that a person is said to have made false document if:
- He made or executed a document claiming to be somebody else or authorized by someone else; or
- He altered or tampered a document; or
- He obtains a document practicing deception or form a person who is not in control of his/her senses
In Sheila Sebastian v. R.J. Jawahraj, (2018) 7 SCC 581 case, the Supreme Court talked about section 463 and section 464 of the IPC. It says that section 463 defines the offence of forgery while on the other hand section 464 substantiates the same by providing answer as to when a false document or an electronic record could be said to have been made for the purpose of committing the offence of forgery under section 463.
Common Types of Document Frauds:
Offenders often make fraudulent use of both false and genuine identity and travel documents in order to carry out their illegal activities.
False Documents:
- Counterfeit Documents: A counterfeit document is one that has been made from scratch to resemble an officially issued document but is an unauthorised reproduction. Even for experts, high quality counterfeits can be hard to identify.
- Forged Documents: A forged document is a genuine document which has been altered for a criminal purpose. Altering photographs and personal details are typical examples, but pages, visas and stamps may also be forged.
- Pseudo or Fantasy Documents: These have no legal basis; they are usually not based on any legitimate document but may have the physical appearance of a passport or identity card. However, they are not officially recognised and are not acceptable proof of either nationality or identity.
Genuine Documents:
- Fraudulently genuine documents obtained through theft, robbery, corruption, etc.
- Genuine documents misused by an impostor. This can include situations where the possessor of the document may look like the rightful owner.
Mode of Making False Document:
- Simulated or a copied forgery: In this variety of forgery, the doer chooses a model signature or writing and tries to replicate (clone) the design of letters and other broad features depending upon his ability, practice, and competency.
- Traced Forgery: This means reproducing the exact copy of the original signature. Traced forgery is accomplished by using carbon paper, indented tracing, tracing paper, transmitted light or scanned image.
- Forgery by Memory: It belongs to the signature or writing prepared of the material by the mental impressions of forms and letters of signatures or writings of the actual writer without examining any model or writing at the time of forgery.
- Forgery by Impersonation: When a person nearly writes or signs the name of another person in his own handwriting in a normal manner rather than expressing himself to be that person with some motive involved.
Notes:
- The offence of making a false document is complete as soon as a document is made with intent to commit a fraud.
- It is not necessary that the document should be made in the name of a really existing person. It may be in the name of a fictitious person.
- A general intention to defraud, without the intention of causing wrongful gain or loss to any particular person, is sufficient. There must however be a possibility of some person being defrauded.
- It is not an essential quality of the fraud mentioned in the section that it should result in, or aim at, deprivation of property.
- Concealment of an already practiced fraud, is fraud.
- If several persons combine to forge an instrument and each takes a distinct part in it, they are nevertheless all guilty.
- The word forgery is used in Section 336(1) BNS as a general term and that section is referred to in a comprehensive sense in Section 215 BNSS. It comprises and embraces all species of forgery and thus includes a case falling under Section 338 BNS.
- Counterfeiting a document to support a legal claim will amount to forgery.
- Antedating a document may become forgery if the date is a material part of the forgery.
- A document made to conceal a previous fraudulent or dishonest act amounts to forgery. But such falsification is not forgery if it is only for the purpose of concealing a previous negligent act.
- A man’s signature of his own name may amount to forgery.
- Offence of forgery can be abetted.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the offense of making false documents is a grave crime under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. This offense not only jeopardizes the credibility of legal, financial, and governmental systems but also poses a significant threat to the sanctity of public trust and individual rights. The law meticulously defines the act of forgery, encompassing the creation, alteration, or use of false documents with fraudulent intent.
The essential elements of the offense include the intentional making or alteration of a document, the fraudulent intent to deceive, and the potential harm caused to another person or institution. The BNS prescribes stringent penalties for such offenses, including imprisonment, fines, or both, to deter individuals from engaging in document-related fraud.
Ultimately, the criminalization of making false documents serves as a crucial safeguard for maintaining the rule of law, ensuring justice, and protecting the interests of individuals and society at large. It reinforces the message that integrity and honesty are fundamental pillars of a just and orderly society.
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