KembaraXtra - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita - Section 335: Making a False Document or False Electronic Record



Q1. What does Section 335 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provide?

Answer:

Section 335 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) defines what constitutes the making of a false document or false electronic record, which forms the foundation of the offence of forgery under Section 336.

A person cannot ordinarily be convicted of forgery unless it is first proved that he has made a false document or false electronic record within the meaning of Section 335.

The section describes three distinct methods by which a false document or false electronic record may be made:

• Clause (A): Creating or executing a document or electronic record in another person's name or authority without authorization.
• Clause (B): Materially altering an existing document or electronic record without lawful authority.
• Clause (C): Causing another person to execute or alter a document through deception, intoxication, or unsoundness of mind.

The section also contains:

• Eleven statutory illustrations.
• Three Explanations.
• Additional illustrations under Explanation 1.
• An illustration under Explanation 2.

These illustrations are important because they explain how the law applies in practical situations.

Example / Application:

A person signs another person's name on a property agreement without authority, intending others to believe that the owner executed the agreement. He makes a false document under Section 335.

Q2. What is the object of Section 335?

Answer:

The object of Section 335 is to define when a document or electronic record becomes legally false.

Not every incorrect statement or dishonest representation amounts to forgery.

The law requires something more.

It requires that the accused must have created, altered, or procured a document in such a way that it falsely appears to have originated from another person or under lawful authority.

The section protects:

• Authenticity of documents.
• Electronic records.
• Commercial transactions.
• Judicial records.
• Government documents.
• Financial instruments.
• Digital communications.
• Electronic signatures.
• Public confidence in documentary evidence.

Without Section 335, the offence of forgery under Section 336 cannot ordinarily be established.

Q3. Which provision of the Indian Penal Code corresponds to Section 335?

Answer:

Section 335 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 corresponds to Section 464 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The language of the provision has substantially been retained.

The only notable drafting change is that the three limbs of the definition have been arranged alphabetically as:

• Clause (A)
• Clause (B)
• Clause (C)

instead of the earlier drafting style.

Therefore, judicial precedents interpreting Section 464 IPC continue to remain relevant for interpreting Section 335 BNS.

Q4. Why is Section 335 called the foundation of forgery?

Answer:

Forgery under Section 336 begins only when there is a false document or false electronic record.

Section 335 explains how a document becomes false.

Unless a document satisfies one of the three categories mentioned in Section 335, the offence of forgery cannot ordinarily arise.

Therefore:

• Section 335 defines the false document.
• Section 336 punishes forgery.

Thus, Section 335 is often described as the foundation stone of the law of forgery.

Example / Application:

If a person merely lies in a letter written in his own name, he may not commit forgery because he has not made a false document under Section 335.

Q5. What are the three methods of making a false document under Section 335?

Answer:

A false document may be made in three different ways.

First Method – Clause (A)

Creating or executing a document or electronic record so that it falsely appears to have been made or authorised by another person.

Second Method – Clause (B)

Materially altering an existing document without lawful authority.

Third Method – Clause (C)

Causing another person to sign or alter a document through:

• Deception.
• Unsoundness of mind.
• Intoxication.

If any one of these methods is proved, a false document exists.

Q6. What does Clause (A) of Section 335 provide?

Answer:

Clause (A) deals with creating a false document from the beginning.

A person dishonestly or fraudulently:

• Makes;
• Signs;
• Seals;
• Executes;
• Transmits;
• Affixes an electronic signature; or
• Makes any authentication mark,

with the intention that others should believe it was done by another person or under another person's authority.

The essential ingredients are:

• Dishonesty or fraud.
• False attribution.
• Lack of authority.
• Intention to deceive regarding authorship or authority.

Example / Application:

A person signs a sale deed in another person's name without authority intending purchasers to believe the owner executed it.

Q7. What acts are covered under Clause (A)?

Answer:

Clause (A) is extremely wide.

It covers:

• Making documents.
• Signing documents.
• Sealing documents.
• Executing documents.
• Making electronic records.
• Transmitting electronic records.
• Affixing electronic signatures.
• Creating authentication marks.
• Creating part of a document.
• Creating part of an electronic record.

It therefore applies equally to:

• Paper documents.
• Digital records.
• Emails.
• Electronic contracts.
• Online certificates.
• Digitally signed records.

Q8. What is meant by "without authority"?

Answer:

The accused must know that:

• He had no authority; or
• The person on whose behalf the document appears to have been made never authorised him.

Authority may arise from:

• Law.
• Contract.
• Agency.
• Power of attorney.
• Employment.
• Delegation.

Absence of authority is an essential ingredient under Clause (A).

Example / Application:

A company employee signs the Managing Director's signature without permission on a loan guarantee.

Q9. What does Clause (B) provide?

Answer:

Clause (B) deals with material alteration.

A person commits the offence where he:

• Without lawful authority;
• Dishonestly or fraudulently;

alters an existing document or electronic record in any material part after it has already been executed.

The alteration may be made to:

• His own document.
• Another person's document.
• A living person's document.
• A deceased person's document.

Q10. What is meant by a material alteration?

Answer:

A material alteration is one which changes the legal effect of the document.

Examples include changing:

• Name.
• Amount.
• Date.
• Property description.
• Beneficiary.
• Rights.
• Obligations.
• Period.
• Signature.
• Authentication details.

Minor corrections that do not affect legal rights ordinarily do not constitute material alteration.

Example / Application:

Changing a cheque amount from ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 is a material alteration.

Q11. Does alteration of one's own document amount to forgery?

Answer:

Yes.

Clause (B) expressly states that alteration may be:

• By himself; or
• By another person.

Thus, even the maker of the original document may commit forgery if he later dishonestly alters it without lawful authority.

Example / Application:

A person changes the repayment amount in a promissory note after the borrower has signed it.

Q12. What does Clause (C) provide?

Answer:

Clause (C) deals with obtaining another person's signature or execution through incapacity or deception.

A person commits the offence if he dishonestly or fraudulently causes another person to:

• Sign.
• Seal.
• Execute.
• Alter.
• Affix an electronic signature.

when that person:

• Is of unsound mind;
• Is intoxicated; or
• Does not understand the nature or contents because of deception.

The document becomes false because genuine consent never existed.

Example / Application:

A person tricks an illiterate elderly person into signing a sale deed believing it to be a pension application.

Q13. Why are unsoundness of mind and intoxication mentioned?

Answer:

The law protects persons who cannot understand:

• What they are signing.
• The legal effect.
• The contents.
• The alteration.

If consent is obtained from a person incapable of understanding because of:

• Mental illness;
• Intoxication;

the resulting document is treated as false.

Q14. What if the person is deceived about the contents?

Answer:

Clause (C) also applies where a person is mentally capable but is deceived about:

• The nature of the document.
• The contents.
• The alteration.

Thus, deception substitutes genuine consent.

Example / Application:

A document represented as a lease agreement is actually an absolute sale deed.

Q15. What is the significance of electronic records under Section 335?

Answer:

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita expressly includes:

• Electronic records.
• Electronic signatures.
• Transmission.
• Digital authentication.

The provision therefore covers:

• Electronic contracts.
• Digital certificates.
• Online banking instructions.
• Electronic invoices.
• Electronic Government records.
• Digital property records.
• E-mails.
• Electronic signatures.

This modernises the law to suit digital transactions.

Q16. What does Explanation 1 provide?

Answer:

Explanation 1 provides that:

A person may commit forgery even by signing his own name.

This is an important principle.

Forgery depends upon false identity, not merely a false signature.

A genuine signature may still become forged if it is used to make people believe that it relates to another person having the same name or was executed in different circumstances.

Example / Application:

A person named "Rajesh Kumar" signs his own name intending others to believe he is another Rajesh Kumar.

Q17. What does Explanation 2 provide?

Answer:

Forgery may also occur where the document is made:

• In the name of a fictitious person.
• In the name of a deceased person.

provided the maker intends others to believe that:

• The fictitious person is real; or
• The deceased person executed it while alive.

Example / Application:

A person creates a promissory note signed in the name of a non-existent businessman to negotiate it.

Q18. What does Explanation 3 provide?

Answer:

Explanation 3 adopts the meaning of:

Affixing electronic signature

from the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Thus, electronic signatures receive the same legal protection as handwritten signatures.

Q19. What is the importance of the statutory illustrations?

Answer:

The eleven illustrations explain the practical application of Section 335.

They demonstrate:

• Material alteration.
• False signatures.
• Blank cheques.
• Misuse of authority.
• Antedating.
• Forged wills.
• Forged endorsements.
• Forged conveyances.
• Fraudulent drafting.
• False recommendation letters.
• Employment certificates.

These illustrations remain valuable examination material.

Q20. What principles emerge from Illustrations (a) to (k)?

Answer:

The illustrations establish several important principles:

Illustration (a)

Increasing the amount in a letter of credit constitutes material alteration.

Illustration (b)

Affixing another person's seal without authority amounts to forgery.

Illustration (c)

Completing a blank bearer cheque dishonestly amounts to forgery.

Illustration (d)

Exceeding authority given to fill up a blank cheque constitutes forgery.

Illustration (e)

Drawing a bill in another's name without authority constitutes forgery.

Illustration (f)

Deleting one beneficiary from a will constitutes material alteration.

Illustration (g)

Changing an endorsement on Government securities constitutes forgery.

Illustration (h)

Antedating a conveyance to defeat another person's rights amounts to forgery.

Illustration (i)

Writing a will differently from dictation and obtaining signature through deception constitutes forgery.

Illustration (j)

Writing a false recommendation letter in another person's name to obtain charity constitutes forgery.

Illustration (k)

Writing a false character certificate to obtain employment constitutes forgery.

Q21. Why is antedating treated as forgery?

Answer:

Antedating means giving a false earlier date.

If done dishonestly so as to:

• Defeat legal rights.
• Mislead others.
• Create false priority.

it becomes making a false document.

Example / Application:

Executing a lease today but dating it six months earlier to defeat an attachment order.

Q22. What is the punishment under Section 335?

Answer:

Section 335 itself does not prescribe punishment.

It merely defines when a false document exists.

Punishment is prescribed under:

• Section 336 (Forgery).
• Section 337 (Forgery of Court records etc.).
• Section 338 (Forgery of valuable security etc.).
• Other related provisions depending upon the document involved.

Q23. Why is Section 335 one of the most important provisions in the chapter?

Answer:

Almost every offence relating to forgery depends upon proving that a false document was made.

Without Section 335:

• Forgery cannot ordinarily be established.
• Sections 336 to 341 cannot properly operate.

Thus, Section 335 provides the legal test for determining whether a document is genuinely false.

Key Provisions (Study Notes)

Section 335 defines

• False document.
• False electronic record.

Three methods of making a false document

Clause (A)

Creating or executing a document falsely in another person's name or authority.

Clause (B)

Material alteration without lawful authority.

Clause (C)

Obtaining execution through:

• Unsoundness of mind.
• Intoxication.
• Deception.

Electronic records covered

• Electronic records.
• Electronic signatures.
• Digital authentication.
• Electronic transmission.

Explanation 1

Signing one's own name may amount to forgery.

Explanation 2

Forgery includes documents made:

• In fictitious names.
• In deceased persons' names.

Explanation 3

Electronic signature has the same meaning as under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Important Legal Principles

• False document is the foundation of forgery.
• Mere false statements do not constitute false documents.
• Material alteration amounts to making a false document.
• A person may forge his own document.
• A person may forge by deception even without physically signing the document.
• Electronic records receive equal protection.

Corresponding IPC Provision

Section 335 BNS corresponds to Section 464 IPC.

The language has substantially been retained, with the clauses reorganised alphabetically.

Key Takeaway

Section 335 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is the cornerstone of the law relating to forgery. It explains when a document or electronic record becomes legally false by recognising three principal methods: (i) making or executing a document in another person's name or without authority, (ii) materially altering an existing document or electronic record without lawful authority, and (iii) procuring the execution or alteration of a document through deception, intoxication, or unsoundness of mind. The provision extends equal protection to paper documents and electronic records, including electronic signatures, and clarifies through detailed illustrations and explanations that forgery may be committed even by signing one's own name, by using the name of a fictitious or deceased person, or by antedating or materially altering documents. Since every offence of forgery under Sections 336 to 341 depends upon the existence of a false document or false electronic record, Section 335 forms the legal foundation of the entire chapter on forgery.