IPC 467 → BNS 338: Forgery of Valuable Security

IPC 467 (now BNS 338): Forgery of a Valuable Security, Will, etc.

IPC Section 467 punishes the forgery of a valuable security, a will, an authority to adopt, or a document purporting to be a deed of authority to transfer or receive money or property. It is the most serious forgery offence. From 1 July 2024 it continues as Section 338 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023.

Punishment under BNS 338 (same as IPC 467)

Imprisonment for life, or imprisonment up to 10 years, and fine. Because the documents protected are high-value financial instruments, this carries the steepest forgery penalty — unchanged from old IPC 467.

What changed from IPC to BNS?

Only the numbering changed (IPC 467 to BNS 338), with the offence read to extend to digital and electronically generated securities, reflecting demat shares, e-stamps and online instruments. New FIRs cite BNS 338.

Worked example

A fabricates a fixed-deposit receipt of a bank to raise a loan against it. Forging such a valuable security falls squarely within BNS 338 and attracts the life or 10-year exposure, not the lighter penalty for ordinary forgery.

Practical notes

• For advocates: trace the document up the forgery ladder — the definition is forgery (IPC 463 to BNS 336), simple punishment is IPC 465 (BNS 336(2)), and using such a forged document as genuine is IPC 471 (BNS 340).
• BNS 338 charges almost always travel with cheating allegations; build the documentary trail carefully.