Section 467 - Forgery of Valuable Security, Will, etc.
Section 467 IPC deals with the aggravated form of forgery. To understand this section in an easy manner, let’s have a quick overview of the section.
Sec 467 IPC as defined in the Code reads as, “Whoever forges a document which purports to be a valuable security or a will, or an authority to adopt a son, which purports to give authority to any person to make or transfer any valuable security, or to receive the principal, interest or dividends thereon, or to receive or deliver any money, movable property, or valuable security, or any document purporting to be an acquittance or receipt for the delivery of any movable property or valuable security, 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”.
The offence described under section 467 Indian Penal Code is an aggravated form of the offences dealt under section 466 IPC (here). Keeping in mind the importance of the documents used in our day to day lives, sec 467 Indian Penal Code classifies a set of documents as the most valuable and also prescribes punishment to the person who tries to forge a person with valuable security or any valuable document.
According to section 467 IPC, this section not only provides punishment for forgery of not only a document purporting to be valuable security but also of any document which tends to give authority to any other person on your behalf to receive or deliver money or other documents or as the case may be.
For the purpose of this section, it is to be understood that an unregistered document which may be or may not be considered as valuable security purports to be valuable security under the ambit of IPC Section 467.
Moving further with the section, it is also necessary to know which acts invoke the provisions of this section and when a person can be sued for the offence committed under IPC section 467.
However, to establish an offence under IPC 467, the following essentials must be there, without the presence of which, the offence committed under section 467 of IPC cannot be proved. As the section is divided into three parts, defining the terms valuable securities and documents. These points are as follows:
Forged documents that pertain to
- A valuable security
- A will, or
- An authority to adopt a son, or
To give authority to any person
- To make authority to any person,
- To receive the principal, interests or dividends on valuable security, or
- To receive or deliver any money, movable property, or valuable security.
To an acquittance or receipt
- For acknowledging the payment of money, or
- For the delivery of any movable property or valuable security.
From the above-mentioned points and discussion, a very clear conclusion can be carved out. Be it valuable security in terms of money, any authority to act on behalf of any person, any valuable document or any other thing are classified as an essential and valuable security under the purview of this section.
Accordingly, the section is divided into two paragraphs respectively defining the nature and gravity of the committed by any person pertaining to the valuable security or a document.
According to para- 1 whoever forges a person with a valuable document or authority, that particular person shall be liable to punishment that shall include imprisonment for life or it could be imprisonment for 10 years or fine. An act committed under this para is considered as non-cognizable and non-bailable offences. The cases pertaining to this para are triable by the Magistrate of the first class.
However, according to para-2, any person who commits offences under this section becomes liable to punishment for imprisonment which can be imprisonment for life or which may be for imprisonment for 10 years and fine respectively. Offences committed are considered as Cognizable and non-bailable, triable by Magistrate of the first class.
