Having possession of document described in section 337 or 338, knowing it to be forged and intending to use it as genuine
Full Text
Whoever has in his possession any document or electronic record, knowing the same to be forged and intending that the same shall fraudulently or dishonestly be used as genuine, shall, if the document or electronic record is one of the description mentioned in section 337 of this Sanhita, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if the document is one of the description mentioned in section 338, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description, for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Plain English Summary
Punishes possessing forged documents mentioned in sections 337 (up to 7 years imprisonment) or 338 (life imprisonment or up to 7 years imprisonment) with intent to use them as genuine.
Key Legal Elements
- Possessing a document or electronic record
- Knowledge that the document/record is forged
- Intent to use the forged document/record fraudulently or dishonestly as genuine
- Graded punishment based on the type of document: up to 7 years fine if matching Section 337 (court records/public register/ID cards); life imprisonment or up to 7 years and fine if matching Section 338 (valuable security/will)
Punishment
If Section 337 document: Imprisonment up to 7 years and fine; If Section 338 document: Imprisonment for life, or up to 7 years and fine
Practical Note
CRITICAL COMPARISON: BNS Section 339 directly replaces Section 474 of the IPC. The essential ingredients (possession, knowledge of forgery, and fraudulent intent to use as genuine) and the graded punishment structure based on referenced sections (7 years for court/public registers, and life or 7 years for valuable securities/wills) remain identical under the BNS, with section numbers updated to reference BNS Sections 337 and 338.
हिंदी पाठ
जो कोई किसी ऐसे दस्तावेज या इलेक्ट्रॉनिक अभिलेख को, यह जानते हुए कि वह कूटरचित है और इस आशय से अपने कब्जे में रखेगा कि उसका कपटपूर्वक या बेईमानी से असली के रूप में उपयोग किया जाए, यदि वह दस्तावेज या इलेक्ट्रॉनिक अभिलेख इस संहिता की धारा 337 में वर्णित विवरण का हो, तो वह दोनों में से किसी भांति के कारावास से, जिसकी अवधि सात वर्ष तक की हो सकेगी, दंडित किया जाएगा और जुर्माने से भी दंडनीय होगा; और यदि वह दस्तावेज धारा 338 में वर्णित विवरण का हो, तो वह आजीवन कारावास से, या दोनों में से किसी भांति के कारावास से, जिसकी अवधि सात वर्ष तक की हो सकेगी, दंडित किया जाएगा और जुर्माने से भी दंडनीय होगा।