Criminal LawsAdvocate Tanwar

INTRODUCTION

Forgery is a criminal offense that involves white-collar crimes. It refers to the false creation, addition, or material alteration of any legal document with the intent to defraud or deceive someone.

Tampering with legal documents may be forbidden by law in some jurisdictions, which attracts legal consequences.

Sections 463-477A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Section 336 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2024, deal with the offense of forgery.

According to Section 463 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and 336 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2024, FORGERY is committed when an individual makes any false documents or false electronic records or part of such documents or records with an intention to cause injury or damage to the public or any other person, or to support a particular claim or title, or to cause any other person to part with property or to enter into any express or implied contract to commit fraud.

According to section 467 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and section 336 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2024, a person guilty of forgery is liable, on conviction, for a term not exceeding 10 years. And liable to a fine. It is a cognizable and bailable offense and triable by a magistrate of first class.

Some of the legal instruments often forged are wills, deeds, patents, checks, contracts, etc.

Elements:

  1. Making, altering, using, or possessing forged items.
  2. Legal  Efficacy
  3. Material  Alteration
  4. With the intent to defraud

Forgery VS.  Fraud

Fraud is a broader aspect that means provisioning false information or engaging in deceptive schemes for personal gain, whereas forgery is a part of fraud that means the creation or alteration of physical or electronic legal documents. They both imply falsehood. Examples of fraud, identity theft, insurance fraud, credit card fraud, etc. Examples of forgery are art forgery, counterfeiting, altering original documents, and false writing.

Types  of  Forgery

Document forgery:

  1. Identity Document: Document forged such as passports, driver’s licenses or ID cards
  2. Financial Documents: Documents forged such as checksinvoices or account statements
  3. Legal Document: Documents forged such as contracts, wills, or court orders .
  • Art and collectible forgery

Creating Fake Artworks And Passing Them Off As Originals And Forging Collectible Items Such As Coins, Stamps, Or Sports Memorabilia

  • Currency forgery

COUNTERFEITING: Creating Fake Currency Notes Or Coins With The Intent To Deceive

  • Digital forgery
  • EMAIL FORGERY
  • DIGITAL DOCUMENT FORGERY
  • Forgery of Government documents

FORGING OF GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS LIKE PASSPORT AND VISA

  • Forgery of intellectual property.

Copyright forgery

Creating fake copyrights or altering genuine ones to deceive others

Trademark forgery

Creating fake trademarks or altering genuine ones to deceive others

General Defences of Forgery

THERE ARE CERTAIN DEFENSES TO FORGERY GIVEN BELOW:

  1. ABSENCE OF MENS REA

It is an important element that establishes the said offense. The accused, alleged with the said offense, was held guilty only if he had an intention.

  • COERCION

If the said offense is done by an accused due to coercion or any threat, then he is not held guilty of said offense.

  • LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

If the accused alleged with said offense proves that he did not know that the legal document or instrument is false-making or altered, then he is not convicted of the said offense.

PREVENTION AND DETECTION

  1. VERIFY AUTHENTICITY

Verify the authenticity of documents, objects, and digital data before relying on them.

  • USE SECURE METHODS

Use effective methods to create, store, and transmit sensitive documents.

  • MONITOR FOR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY

Monitor for suspicious activity such as unusual transactions or changes to documents.

  • REPORT FORGERY

Report any forged document immediately.

CONCLUSION

Forgery is an offense that attracts serious legal consequences. The core of forgery is the duplication or false alteration of real documents by the criminal for the sake of fraud and deception. It is considered a white-collar crime that involves the creation of false documents or other legal instruments with the malicious intent to deceive an individual. The intention is the important element on the part of the offender to establish the case for forgery, and the burden of proof lies on the prosecution to prove that the said offense was committed by the accused. People need to be aware of the said offenses, which are governed by Indian laws, i.e., the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the present law, which is Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2024. Forged documents, according to Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, are forgeries of valuable security. Any document that enables an individual to adopt a son or to transfer any valuable security or any such document that appears to be a receipt of money acknowledging the payment, etc. By taking such measures of prevention and detection, we can protect ourselves, or organizations, and our communities from the serious consequences. One of the most important factors to understand is the gravity and consequential aspect of such acts that cause damage or fraud.

CONTRIBUTED BY : TANISHA ARORA