According to Section 466:– Whoever forges a document or an electronic record, purporting to be a record or proceeding of or in a Court of Justice, or a register of birth, baptism, marriage or burial, or a register kept by a public servant as such, or a certificate or document purporting to be made by a public servant in his official capacity, or an authority to institute or defend a suit, or to take any proceedings therein, or to confess judgment, or a power of attorney, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation
For the purposes of this section, “register” includes any list, data or record of any entries maintained in the electronic form as defined in clause (r) of subsection (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000).)
Classification of Offence
| Offence Description | Punishment provided | Cognizable/Non-Cognizable |
|---|---|---|
| Forgery of a record of a Court of Justice or of a Registrar of Births, etc., kept by a public servant. | Imprisonment for 7 years and fine. | Non-Cognizable |
| Bailable/Non-Bailable | Trial Court Details | Compoundable/Non-Compoundable |
| Non-Bailable | Magistrate of the first class. | Non-Compoundable |
| Compoundable by Whom | Concerned Ministry | Concerned Department |
| Non-Compoundable | Ministry of Home Affairs | Department of Internal Security |
466 IPC Case Laws (Supreme Court and HC)
| Sheonandan Paswan vs State Of Bihar & Others on 16 December, 1982 |
| S. L. Goswami vs High Court Of Madhya Pradesh At on 23 November, 1978 |
| State Of U.P vs Ranjit Singh on 19 February, 1999 |
| Govind Mehta vs State Of Bihar on 7 May, 1971 |
| Purushottam Das Dalmia vs The State Of West Bengal on 19 April, 1961 |
| Purushottamdas Dalmia vs The State Of West Bengal on 19 April, 1961 |
| Mahendra Singh vs State Of Rajasthan on 26 October, 1971 |
| Yash Pal Mittal vs State Of Punjab on 3 November, 1977 |
| Smt. Parminder Kaur vs State Of U.P. & Anr on 14 March, 2007 |
| Gopalakrishna Menon And Another vs D. Raja Reddy And Another on 5 September, 1983 |
| Haradhan Maiti (1887) 14 Cal. 513 (FB) |
| Vallabhram (1925( 27 Bom. LR 1391 |
FAQs on Section 466 of the IPC
Section 466 of the IPC deals with the offense of forging certain documents, both physical and electronic. It states that anyone who forges a document or an electronic record, purporting to be a record or proceeding of or in a Court of Justice, a register of birth, baptism, marriage or burial, a register maintained by a public servant, a certificate or document made by a public servant in his official capacity, or an authority to institute or defend a suit, or to take any proceedings therein, or to confess judgment, or a power of attorney, shall be punished.
Section 466 of the IPC covers various types of documents, including records or proceedings of a Court of Justice, registers of birth, baptism, marriage, or burial, registers maintained by public servants, certificates or documents made by public servants in their official capacity, authorities to institute or defend a suit, and powers of attorney.
The punishment for forging documents under Section 466 of the IPC is imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and a fine may also be imposed on the offender.
Yes, Section 466 includes electronic records as well. It specifically mentions that “register” includes any list, data, or record of any entries maintained in electronic form as defined in clause (r) of subsection (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000).
Read also:- IPC Section 465: Punishment for forgery
