Section 233 - Making or selling instrument for counterfeiting coin
Section 233 IPC deals with, “whoever makes or mends, or performs any part of the process of making or mending, or buys, sells, or disposes of, any die or instrument, for the purpose of being used, or knowing or having reasons to believe that it is intended to be used, for the purpose of counterfeiting coin, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine”.
Before holding a person liable under the purview of section 233 Indian Penal Code, it is to be understood, what this section is all about and what are the acts that become criminal in nature.
According to this Sec 233 IPC, any person who tries to mend or make an instrument that could be used for the purpose of counterfeiting coin shall be liable to punishment.
The terms used, which requires more focus are coin and counterfeiting coin. The term coin is defined under section 230 of the IPC, which states it as a metal which is used as money and is duly stamped and approved by the Government of India.
The term counterfeiting coin means a coin that is not genuine or we can say is not real, but resembles the exact copy of the originally issued coin.
To constitute an offence under Sec 233 Indian Penal Code, there are some major ingredients. These are:
- That the accused made or mended or performed any part of the process of making or mending any die or instrument, or that he bought or sold or disposed of such die or instrument.
- That the accused did an act:
- Intending or knowing that such die or instrument might be used for the purpose of counterfeiting coin, or
- That he knew or had reasons to believe, that the same was intended to be used for such purpose.
IPC 233 or we can also state it as Section 233 IPC as well as section 234 provides punishment to a person who involves in the act of making or mending, any kind of instrument that can help in producing the fake or false copies of the prevailing money in the country. This section even makes the initial preparation as well as the whole process punishable because of the gravity and nature of the act in question.
Making or intending to make such instruments which can be used in place of the real as well as the original currency is a punishable offence. It is the Government of that particular country that issues and authorises the respective authorities to issue currencies and money to its citizens.
The act or we can say the offence committed under this section is punishable with imprisonment of at least 3 years and may also make a person liable to pay fine. Making or selling the instrument for counterfeiting coin is a non-bailable and cognizable offence, which is triable by the Magistrate of the First class.
