Old law lookup
IPC Section 463
Forgery (definition)
New section under BNS
BNS Section 336— Forgery
Effective for any FIR, charge sheet, or filing on or after 1 July 2024. Matters that arose before that date continue under the IPC.
What the new section does
Defines the offence of forgery as making a false document or electronic record with specified fraudulent intents, and prescribes three tiers of punishment depending on whether the forgery is basic, intended for cheating, or intended to harm reputation.
- Punishment
- Basic forgery (sub-s.2): up to 2 years imprisonment or fine or both; Forgery for cheating (sub-s.3): up to 7 years + fine; Forgery to harm reputation (sub-s.4): up to 3 years + fine
- Triable by
- Magistrate of First Class
- Cognizable
- Yes
- Bailable
- Depends
For the full text of the new section, see the linked BNS page above. For the binding statutory text, refer to the India Code or the Gazette of India. This reference is informational, not legal advice.