IPC Section 231: Counterfeiting Coin - Current Law under BNS Section 178

What did IPC Section 231 provide?

Section 231 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 dealt with counterfeiting coin. It punished a person who counterfeited a coin or knowingly performed any part of the process of counterfeiting one.

Historical punishment: Imprisonment of either description (simple or rigorous) for a term extending to seven years, and liability to a fine.

Explanation: The former section also treated a person as committing the offence where, intending deception or knowing deception was likely, the person caused a genuine coin to appear to be a different coin. This important principle is retained in the modern law.

IPC Section 231 was part of the older group of offences concerning coin. It should not be mistaken for the present BNS punishment or cited as the current provision for conduct occurring after the BNS commencement, subject to applicable transition rules.

BNS Section 178: Current law on counterfeiting coin

Section 178 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 criminalises counterfeiting, or knowingly performing any part of the process of counterfeiting, any coin, Government revenue stamp, currency-note or bank-note.

The provision brings several kinds of counterfeiting within a single section. For the offence under Section 178, the prescribed sentence is imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term up to ten years, and a fine.

The official text is available from the National Crime Records Bureau BNS chapter text and the Bureau of Police Research and Development BNS PDF.

Essential ingredients and legal definitions

1. Subject matter: A coin, Government revenue stamp, currency-note or bank-note must be involved.
2. Prohibited act: The accused counterfeits it or knowingly performs any part of the counterfeiting process.
3. Knowledge: The alternative of participating in the process expressly requires knowing participation; the facts and evidence must establish the elements of the charged offence.
4. Deceptive alteration: Under the statutory explanation, intentionally or knowingly making a genuine coin appear like another coin can amount to counterfeiting.

What is a coin?

The explanation to BNS Section 178 adopts the meaning assigned to coin in Section 2 of the Coinage Act, 2011, and includes metal used as money that is stamped and issued by or under the authority of a State or sovereign power for that purpose.

What acts count as counterfeiting a coin?

Under the explanation to BNS Section 178, counterfeiting a coin includes diminishing its weight, changing its composition or altering its appearance. It also covers making a genuine coin appear to be a different coin where deception is intended or known to be likely.

What is a bank-note?

For this chapter, the statutory explanation includes certain promises to pay the bearer on demand issued by banking businesses or authorised sovereign issuers and intended as a substitute for money. The complete legal definition should be consulted for borderline instruments.

Punishment, cognizability, bail and trial

The current procedural classification comes from the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). A cognizable classification concerns police powers under the law; non-bailable does not mean that bail can never be granted. The court considers bail under the applicable legal provisions and circumstances.

For the official offence classification, consult the NCRB BNSS First Schedule.

Practical illustrations

• Imitation coins: A person manufactures metal pieces resembling legal coins and intends them to be passed as genuine. Section 178 may apply where the legal ingredients are established.
• Altering genuine coins: A person deliberately changes the appearance of a genuine coin to resemble a different denomination for deception. The statutory explanation specifically addresses this conduct.
• Participation in production: A person knowingly carries out a part of a counterfeit-coin production process. The law does not require that person to have completed the entire process alone.
• Unknowing receipt: A person unknowingly receives a counterfeit coin in ordinary change. That fact alone does not establish the knowing counterfeiting offence under Section 178.

These are simplified examples, not conclusions about any particular prosecution. Liability depends on evidence and the applicable law.

Related offences under the BNS

The BNS separately addresses dealing in forged or counterfeit items and possession or use of counterfeiting equipment:

• BNS Section 179: Using as genuine, or dealing in, forged or counterfeit coin, Government stamps, currency-notes or bank-notes with the required knowledge or reason to believe.
• BNS Section 180: Possession of counterfeit items with the specified knowledge and intention; its explanation addresses possession from a lawful source.
• BNS Section 181: Making, dealing in or possessing machinery, instruments or materials for forging or counterfeiting, with the required purpose or knowledge.

Whether these provisions apply depends on the conduct and evidence; possession, circulation and manufacture should not be treated as interchangeable offences.

Frequently asked questions