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Section263
The Indian Penal Code, 1860

Erasure of mark denoting that stamp has been used

Repealed From 01 Jan 1862 Act 45 of 1860 As on 17 Oct 2026

Act 45 of 1860 Ministry Home Affairs Enacted 06 Oct 1860 In force 01 Jan 1862 Cited by 1 provision

This provision is repealed. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024. It is reproduced because conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

Section 263 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with erasure of mark denoting that stamp has been used. Whoever, fraudulently or with intent to cause loss to Government, erases or removes from a stamp issued by Government for the purpose of revenue, any mark, put or impressed upon such stamp for the purpose of denoting that the same has been used, or knowingly has in his possession or sells or dispose 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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,

fraudulently or with intent to cause loss to Government, erases or removes from a stamp issued by Government for the purpose of revenue, any mark, put or impressed upon such stamp for the purpose of denoting that the same has been used, or knowingly has in his possession or sells or disposes of any such stamp from which such mark has been erased or removed, or sells or disposes of any such stamp which he knows to have been used, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

Section 263, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).

Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

BNS 185 Erasure of mark denoting that stamp has been used Text carried over almost unchanged 100%

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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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 1

  1. s. 263A Prohibition of fictitious stamps

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.

  1. Prakash Bhiva Mayekar vs Union of India

    High Court 26 Sep 2016 Persuasive (High Court)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    When the prosecution's case is limited to washing and reusing genuine stamps (rather than printing duplicate or bogus stamps), and the accused have been on bail during trial without any misconduct, substantive sentences of short duration (4 years maximum) should be suspended and bail should be granted pending appeal, provided appropriate conditions are imposed to ensure the accused's appearance and compliance with court orders.

    On this section: Offence of using a stamp known to be counterfeit - accused convicted under this section

    Read the full order on eCourts India

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 263

What have the courts held on Section 263 of the Indian Penal Code?

Prakash Bhiva Mayekar vs Union of India (26 Sep 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Offence of using a stamp known to be counterfeit - accused convicted under this section.

How do I find court cases under Section 263 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 263, section 263 IPC, section 263 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 263a and ipc 263 a in bns. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Prakash Bhiva Mayekar vs Union of India (26 Sep 2016).

What should I read with Section 263 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 185 (Erasure of mark denoting that stamp has been used), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 263 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?

Section 263 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 263, 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

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.