BNS Section 181: Making Or Possessing Instruments Or Materials For Forging Or Counterfeiting Coin, Government Stamp, Currency-Notes Or Bank-Notes

Definition of BNS Section 181

Section 181 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 states:
“Whoever makes or mends, or performs any part of the process of making or mending, or buys or sells or disposes of, or has in his possession, any machinery, die, or instrument or material for the purpose of being used, or knowing or having reason to believe that it is intended to be used, for forging or counterfeiting any coin, stamp issued by Government for the purpose of revenue, currency-note or bank-note, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 181

This section states that the unauthorised possession of certain objects or materials that are used in the process of manufacturing currency / stamps is prosecutable under section 181. These objects include

Items like currency and revenue stamps are the bloodline of an economy and governments go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that currency / stamps are created in a highly specialised and customised manner so as to ensure that such articles cannot be replicated. The materials with which these articles are made are made from restricted material and are not available for sale in the open market. Its vendors are registered and the inventory of their stock is closely monitored. Similarly, the machines that are used are designed and cast in a highly customised manner and not available for sale. They are made to order and their design kept highly confidential. The end product, however, which is the currency and the stamp, is available in the free market and can be easily used to reverse engineer the process of manufacturing. Possession of such equipment or material by an unauthorised person is illegal and constitutes an offence under section 181 of the BNS. The section specifically specifies:

Machinery - Such as printers with specific colour cartridges that are only used in dying currency notes.
Die - A specialised piece of metal tooling that is used to cut a specific shape out of a material. The one used for currencies is not for sale and cannot be ordered by anyone other than the government authorities.
Instrument - Any other part or specific machinery that is customised purely for minting currency or stamps.
Material - The currency notes and coins are made from very specific restricted materials that cannot be found in the open market. Coins are made from a specific metal alloy and currency from cotton. These materials in their customised specifications are not allowed to be sold in the open market.

If anyone has had any dealings with such materials then they are subject to the provisions of section 181. Section 181 also specifies the kind of dealings that are categorically prohibited. If someone:
makes or mends - referring to the act of manufacturing, modifying or repairing such prohibited equipment or material
performs any part of the process - referring to the act of using or deploying any such prohibited equipment or material
buys or sells or disposes - referring to trading in such prohibited equipment or material in exchange for remuneration. Further, it also adds that anyone in possession of such equipment disposes of it without notifying the authorities, will be considered as equal offenders under this section.

Further, the section adds one final criteria, which is the act of knowing. Anyone who is accused of any of the action above has to have participated in it knowingly without being coerced or deceived. Lack of knowledge or awareness of the crime recuses the act from the purview of this section.

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