Dishonestly or fraudulently preventing debt being available for creditors
Section 422 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with dishonestly or fraudulently preventing debt being available for creditors. Whoever dishonestly or fraudulently prevents any debt or demand due to himself or to any other person from being made available according to law for payment of his debts or the debts of such other person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two ye 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 dishonestly or fraudulently prevents any debt or demand due to himself or to any other person from being made available according to law for payment of his debts or the debts of such other person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 422, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 321 Dishonestly or fraudulently preventing debt being available for creditors 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
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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Asim Srivastava vs State of Bihar& ANR.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act mandates that no court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under Section 138 except upon a written complaint made by the payee or holder in due course of the cheque. An FIR filed by an informant with the police is not a maintainable mode of initiating proceedings for cheque dishonour offences. A Magistrate cannot take cognizance on the basis of a charge-sheet submitted by police following an FIR, as this circumvents the statutory requirement for a written complaint from the payee. The procedural safeguard of serving a notice of demand on the drawer within the stipulated period is a condition precedent for filing a complaint under Section 138 NI Act.
On this section: Dishonestly or fraudulently making false entry in account; cited in the charge-sheet but not specifically analyzed in the judgment
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 422
What have the courts held on Section 422 of the Indian Penal Code?
Asim Srivastava vs State of Bihar& ANR. (06 Dec 2018) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Dishonestly or fraudulently making false entry in account; cited in the charge-sheet but not specifically analyzed in the judgment.
How do I find court cases under Section 422 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 422, section 422 IPC, section 422 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 422 in bns and ipc 422 punishment. 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 Asim Srivastava vs State of Bihar& ANR. (06 Dec 2018).
What should I read with Section 422 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 321 (Dishonestly or fraudulently preventing debt being available for creditors), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 422 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 422 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 422, 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.