Refusing to sign statement
Section 180 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with refusing to sign statement. Whoever refuses to sign any statement made by him, when required to sign that statement by a public servant legally competent to require that he shall sign that statement, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hu 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 refuses to sign any statement made by him, when required to sign that statement by a public servant legally competent to require that he shall sign that statement, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
Section 180, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 215 Refusing to sign statement 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
Referred to by 21
- Armed Forces Tribunal Act s. 15 Jurisdiction, powers and authority in matters of appeal against court martial
- Assam Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act s. 18 Procedure in respect of investigations
- Gujarat Lokayukta Aayog Act s. 13
- Gujarat Lokayukta Act s. 11
- Kerala State Commission for Minorities Act s. 12 Powers of the Commission
- Kerala State Commission for Minorities Act, 2014 (5 of 2014) s. 12 Powers of the Commission
- Maharashtra Police Act s. 22Q Powers and functions of State Police Complaints Authority
- Meghalaya Police Act, 2010 (Act No. 7 of 2011) s. 81 Powers of the Accountability Commission
- Mizoram Police Act s. 109 Powers of the Commission
- Punjab Lokpal Act s. 21
- Sikkim Police Act s. 141
- Tripura Police Act s. 67 Powers of the Commission
and 9 more
Questions about Section 180
What does Section 180 of the Indian Penal Code deal with?
Section 180 of the Indian Penal Code is headed "Refusing to sign statement". Whoever refuses to sign any statement made by him, when required to sign that statement by a public servant legally competent to require that he shall sign that statement, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hu
How do I find court cases under Section 180 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 180, section 180 IPC, section 180 of the Indian Penal Code. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 180 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
21 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 215 (Refusing to sign statement), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 180 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 180 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 180, 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.