Section 178 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023:Counterfeiting coin, Government stamps, currency-notes or bank-notes.
Counterfeiting coin, Government stamps, currency-notes or bank-notes.Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023
Whoever
counterfeits, or knowingly performs any part of the process of counterfeiting, any coin, stamp issued by
Government for the purpose of revenue, currency-note or bank-note, shall be punished with
imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten
years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation.For the purposes of this Chapter,
(1) the expression “bank-note” means a promissory note or engagement for the payment of
money to bearer on demand issued by any person carrying on the business of banking in any part of
the world, or issued by or under the authority of any State or Sovereign Power, and intended to be
used as equivalent to, or as a substitute for money;
(2) “coin” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 2 of the Coinage Act, 2011
(11 of 2011) and includes metal used for the time being as money and is stamped and issued by or
under the authority of any State or Sovereign Power intended to be so used;
(3) a person commits the offence of “counterfeiting Government stamp” who counterfeits by
causing a genuine stamp of one denomination to appear like a genuine stamp of a different
denomination;
(4) a person commits the offence of counterfeiting coin who intending to practise deception, or
knowing it to be likely that deception will thereby be practised, causes a genuine coin to appear like a
different coin; and
(5) the offence of “counterfeiting coin” includes diminishing the weight or alteration of the
composition, or alteration of the appearance of the coin.