Possession of forged or counterfeit coin, Government stamp, currency-notes or bank-notes
Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with possession of forged or counterfeit coin, Government stamp, currency-notes or bank-notes. Whoever has in his possession any forged or counterfeit coin, stamp, currency-note or bank-note, knowing or having reason to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit and intending to use the same as genuine or that it may be used as genuine, shall be punished with imprisonment of either descript The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
Whoever has in his possession any forged or counterfeit coin, stamp, currency-note or bank-note, knowing or having reason to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit and intending to use the same as genuine or that it may be used as genuine, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.
Explanation.—If a person establishes the possession of the forged or counterfeit coin, stamp, currency-note or bank-note to be from a lawful source, it shall not constitute an offence under this section.
Section 180, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Indian Penal Code
IPC 259 Having possession of counterfeit Government stamp Distant match 55%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
How this offence is classified
From the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which classifies every offence under the Sanhita. Cognizable means a police officer may arrest without warrant; bailable means bail is a matter of right rather than of the court's discretion.
| Offence | Punishment | Cognizable | Bailable | Triable by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Possession of forged or counterfeit coin, Government stamp, currency-notes or bank-notes. | Imprisonment for 7 years, or fine, or both. | Cognizable. | Non-bailable. | Court of Session. |
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Umashanker vs State of Chhattisgarh
Decided under Indian Penal Code 489C, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Mere possession of counterfeit currency notes will not sustain a conviction: the prosecution must affirmatively prove that the accused knew or had reason to believe the notes were forged and intended to use them as genuine, and no presumption of that guilty knowledge can be raised against an unwary holder. The High Court's conviction was set aside for want of such evidence.
On this section: Fixes the mens rea standard for possession of forged or counterfeit currency: knowledge or reason to believe plus intent to use as genuine must be proved, not presumed from the fact of possession.
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K. Hashim v. State of Tamil Nadu
Decided under Indian Penal Code 489C, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgment of Main Case order-6.pdf 2004-11-17 DATE VERIFIED. Crl.A. 185/2004 (with 187/2004). Arijit Pasayat / C.K. Thakker. Isolates IPC 489A: the section covers not only completed counterfeiting but knowingly performing any part of the process; ‘currency notes’ include foreign notes (US dollars) (Mathai Verghese); s.28 Explanation 2 raises a rebuttable presumption where the resemblance might deceive. Conviction under 120B r/w 489A/489C/489D affirmed. Do not successor-map bns 178 (mapping.csv close 0.8486). Do not pad ipc 28/120B (already filled / not the isolate).
On this section: Confirms that the possession offence reaches counterfeit foreign currency notes as well as Indian ones, and sets out how counterfeiting and knowing possession may be proved through expert and accomplice evidence.
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Mohammad Asif vs The State of Karnataka State of Karnataka Sub Inspector of Police
Decided under Indian Penal Code 489C, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The conviction for possession of counterfeit hundred-rupee notes was maintained but the sentence was reduced to the period already undergone: the section prescribes no minimum sentence, so the appellate court retains discretion, and the absence of criminal antecedents together with the long lapse of time since the 2002 seizure justified its exercise.
On this section: Addresses sentencing under the possession offence, distinguishing it from the graver offence of trafficking in counterfeit notes and holding that the absence of a statutory minimum leaves appellate sentencing discretion intact.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 180
What have the courts held on Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?
Umashanker vs State of Chhattisgarh is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under IPC 489C, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Fixes the mens rea standard for possession of forged or counterfeit currency: knowledge or reason to believe plus intent to use as genuine must be proved, not presumed from the fact of possession. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2004 to 2025.
Is Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bailable?
Non-bailable, under the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Is Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita cognizable?
Cognizable. "Cognizable" means a police officer may arrest without warrant; "non-cognizable" that they may not. An offence under this section is triable by Court of Session.
How do I find court cases under Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNS 180, section 180 BNS, section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 180-02z. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Umashanker vs State of Chhattisgarh.
What should I read with Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and has it changed?
2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward IPC 259 (Having possession of counterfeit Government stamp), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?
Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 180, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
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- 101. Murder1177 words
- 303. Theft1104 words
- 3. General explanations858 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.