BNS Section 201: Public Servant Framing An Incorrect Document With Intent To Cause Injury

Explanation and Illustration of Section 201 (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023)

The provisions of Section 201 of the BNS are applicable to those public servants who are charged with preparing public documents and records. There are multiple types of public documents. But in a broad sense, it refers to any document prepared by a government authority in the performance of its duty. These may be announcements, notifications, legislations, certificates, judgements, grants, reports, statistical data, etc. While some documents are purely informational in nature and may not really impact any person or group in any detrimental manner, some of them can have an important impact on them.

For instance the investigation report in a criminal case created by the investigating office is a public document that relays information of the findings of a criminal investigation to the court. The court depends on this information in delivering justice. This document can seriously impact the life of the persons involved in the case. So the correctness and the accuracy of these documents is very critical. While section 201 does not limit its applicability to any one kind of public document, it is for cases like these that this section has specifically put in place, as a deterrent and a penal provision for any wrongdoing by a public official in charge of preparing such documents.

Further, it not only holds accountable officials in charge of preparing such documents, but also those in charge of translating them as well. Given the same legal framework applies to a people who speak a vast array of languages, most public documents are prepared in english and then translated into the relevant languages and kept as part of public record. The duty of the translator is very crucial in such matters. For instance, a simple translating error between the words can have major ramifications.

For instance if an order that states “a person shall—” is translated as “a person may–”, it changes the legal consequences by making something mandatory (shall) into something optional (may).

The section intends to hold accountable such incorrect framing in public documents. But there has to be a certain criminal quality to these errors in order to be punishable under this section. This section identifies two specific qualities to such actions. The action has to be done
    a) Knowingly
    b) With intent of causing injury

So the public servant has to be aware that the information he or she is putting into the document is incorrect. Further, it also states that a person who frames something in the document believing it to be incorrect, is also punishable under this section. So even if the information is not incorrect, but the officer puts the information in the document thinking it to be incorrect, then it demonstrates that the office intended to frame something incorrect in a public document. This is equally culpable under this section because criminal intent is as much an offence as a criminal act.

In addition to having performed the act knowingly, the act also must be done with the intent of causing injury. In other words, the error must be done purposely, knowing that use of such incorrect expression in the public document not only deviates from what is supposed to be communicated but also can cause unintended injury to any person.

It may cause injury to a person who is intended to be the beneficiary of what the document is communicating, but is deprived of such benefit because of the intentional disruption in the original messaging of the document. For instance an investigating office purposely omitting details that may otherwise prove the innocence of a person. Or it may also cause injury by sanctioning a person who may have nothing to do with the original communication. For instance an investigating officer fabricating details in the investigation report, implicating someone who may have nothing to do with a crime.

The intent of causing injury through such action is equally culpable, as mentioned earlier. To that effect it states that if the act has been performed knowing it to be likely that he may thereby cause injury to any person, then the person is punishable.

The punishment prescribed under this section shall be imprisonment of three years, or fine, or both. The judge shall prescribe the fine based on the severity of the case.