Personating a public servant
Section 170 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with personating a public servant. Whoever pretends to hold any particular office as public servant, knowing that he does not hold such office or falsely personates any other person holding such office, and in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour of such office, shall be punished with imprisonment of eit The Act came into force on 01 Jan 1862. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
Whoever pretends to hold any particular office as public servant, knowing that he does not hold such office or falsely personates any other person holding such office, and in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour of such office, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 170, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 204 Personating a public servant Text carried over almost unchanged 97%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
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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State of Punjab vs Prem Sarup
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A police officer acquitted in a criminal prosecution does not ipso facto have immunity from departmental disciplinary proceedings on the same charges. The standard of proof differs significantly between criminal proceedings (beyond reasonable doubt) and departmental proceedings (preponderance of probability). However, to sustain departmental action after criminal acquittal, the employer must establish specific exceptions under Rule 16.3 of Police Rules 1934, such as that prosecution witnesses were won over. Where appellants fail to demonstrate that such exceptions apply or that the disciplinary authority properly examined the hostile witnesses during departmental proceedings, the disciplinary action will be upheld by appellate courts if no defects in procedure or evidence are established.
On this section: Cited regarding the charge of falsely pretending to hold office of DTO Ropar and conducting unauthorized traffic checking; respondent was prosecuted but acquitted under this section
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Shahana Parveen vs State
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A woman accused of extortion and criminal intimidation is entitled to regular bail when: (1) the evidence against her consists primarily of contradictory statements of the complainant; (2) the case falls within the Arnesh Kumar guidelines suggesting procedural defects in arrest; (3) the trial is expected to take considerable time; (4) she has no prior convictions; (5) she is entitled to the statutory concession for women under Section 437(1) Proviso of Cr.P.C.; and (6) the nature of offences and circumstances do not warrant continued detention.
On this section: Personation in judicial proceedings - non-bailable offence
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 170
What have the courts held on Section 170 of the Indian Penal Code?
State of Punjab vs Prem Sarup (18 Sep 2008) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Cited regarding the charge of falsely pretending to hold office of DTO Ropar and conducting unauthorized traffic checking; respondent was prosecuted but acquitted under this section. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2008 to 2022.
How do I find court cases under Section 170 of the Indian Penal Code?
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: IPC 170, section 170 IPC, section 170 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 170 in bns. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with State of Punjab vs Prem Sarup (18 Sep 2008).
What should I read with Section 170 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 204 (Personating a public servant), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 170 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 170 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 170, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 499. Defamation1512 words
- 464. Making a false document1223 words
- 300. Murder1172 words
- 378. Theft980 words
- 108. Abettor745 words
- 403. Dishonest misappropriation of property727 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. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 7b7d4fe6-206b-4e33-81f1-b98b018acaf6). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.