Furnishing false information
Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with furnishing false information. Whoever, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject which he knows or has reason to believe to be false shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine whi 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject which he knows or has reason to believe to be false shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both;
or, if the information which he is legally bound to give respects the commission of an offence, or is required for the purpose of preventing the commission of an offence, or in order to the apprehension of an offender, with imprisonment of either description
for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Illustrations
(a) A, a landholder, knowing of the commission of a murder within the limits of his estate, wilfully misinforms the Magistrate of the district that the death has occurred by accident in consequence of the bite of a snake. A is guilty of the offence defined in this section.
(b) A, a village watchman, knowing that a considerable body of strangers has passed through his village in order to commit a dacoity in the house of Z, a wealthy merchant residing in a neighbouring place, and being bound under clause 5, section VII, Regulation III, 1821, of the Bengal Code, to give early and punctual information of the above fact to the officer of the nearest police station, wilfully misinforms the police officer that a body of suspicious characters passed through the village with a view to commit dacoity in a certain distant place in a different direction. Here A is guilty of the offence defined in the latter part of this section.
[Explanation.-In section 176 and in this section the word "offence" includes any act committed at any place out of [India], which, if committed in [India], would be punishable under any of the following sections, namely, 302, 304, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 402, 435, 436, 449, 450, 457, 458, 459 and 460; and the word "offender" includes any person who is alleged to have been guilty of any such act.]
Section 177, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 212 Furnishing false information Text carried over almost unchanged 94%
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.
This section refers to
Referred to by 32
- Andhra Pradesh Sri Simhachalam Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam Panchagramalu (Regularization of Occupations of Houses And Houses Sites) Act s. 10
- Commissions of Inquiry Act s. 5 Additional powers of Commission
- Gujarat Land Requisition Act s. 12
- Gujarat Lokayukta Aayog Act s. 13
- Gujarat Lokayukta Act s. 11
- Gujarat Police Act s. 168
- Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act s. 392
- Gujarat Requisitioned Property (Continuency of Powers) (Saurashtra Area) Act s. 7 Power to information
- HIV/AIDS Act 2017 s. 24
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act s. 24 Powers of Ombudsman
- International Monetary Fund and Bank Act s. 4 Power to call for information
- s. 40 "Offence"
and 20 more
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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Bishan Dass vs State of Punjab
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The essential ingredients of Section 420 IPC require not merely the issuance of a false document or certificate by a public servant, but specifically require proof of dishonest intention and mens rea to cause wrongful gain for himself or wrongful loss to another. The mere fact that a false certificate was issued, which resulted in some unintended consequence such as land allotment, does not suffice to establish the offence of cheating under Section 420 IPC unless there is clear evidence of the accused's dishonest intention at the time of making the false statement or inducement. In contradistinction, Section 177 IPC, which deals with giving false information, requires only that a person legally bound to furnish information to a public servant furnishes as true information which he knows or has reason to believe to be false.
On this section: Conviction upheld. Section 177 deals with furnishing of false information to a public servant. Court found that as Sarpanch, appellant was legally bound to furnish correct information and issued false certificate knowing it to be false. All ingredients of Section 177 satisfied.
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Tamil Nadu Petro Products LTD vs Additional Depty Commercial
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Once a corporate representative has been arrayed as an accused in criminal proceedings, that representative cannot be substituted or delegated to another person during the pendency of the trial. The representative who was responsible for the alleged offence at the relevant point of time cannot further delegate his position as accused to some other person. Section 305 CrPC permits a company to appoint a representative, but this does not extend to allowing substitution of the representative once the proceedings have commenced and the representative has been named as an accused.
On this section: Sections 177 (Furnishing false information), 409 (Criminal breach of trust), and 420 (Cheating) were cited in the criminal complaint against the company.
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.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… Our discussion aims to address the uncertainties and provide assurance regarding the integrity of the electoral process. A voting mechanism must uphold and adhere to <span id="page-35-0"></span><sup>25</sup> However, we refrain from making any comments on the application of Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. the principles of security, accountability, and accuracy. An overcomplex voting system may engender doubt and uncertainty, thereby easing the chances of manipulation. In our considered opinion, the EVMs are simple, secure and user-friendly. The voters, candidates and their …
Questions about Section 177
What have the courts held on Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code?
Bishan Dass vs State of Punjab (26 Aug 2014) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Conviction upheld. Section 177 deals with furnishing of false information to a public servant. Court found that as Sarpanch, appellant was legally bound to furnish correct information and issued false certificate knowing it to be false. All ingredients of Section 177 satisfied. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2014 to 2021.
How do I find court cases under Section 177 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 177, section 177 IPC, section 177 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 177 and 199 and ipc 177 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 Bishan Dass vs State of Punjab (26 Aug 2014).
What should I read with Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 176 (Omission to give notice or information to public servant by person legally bound to give it), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 32 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 212 (Furnishing false information), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 177, 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.