BNS Section 246: Dishonestly making false claim in Court

Definition of BNS Section 246

Section 246 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 states:

“Whoever fraudulently or dishonestly, or with intent to injure or annoy any person, makes in a Court any claim which he knows to be false, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Explanation and Illustration of Section 246

This section is applicable to any person within the sovereign borders of India, whether citizen, resident or otherwise. It deals with the offence of making false claims in court. Let us break down the section to get a better understanding of it.

Offence

Any person who, as part of a judicial proceeding in a court, makes any claims that he or she knows to be false, shall be considered an offender under the provisions of this section. The term claim refers to claiming compensation from another person in a court of law for any reason. This section defines false claims under three specific categories:

Fraudulent claim: A false claim made in court with the intent to commit fraud and further personal interest and gain.

Claim to cause injury: A false claim made against a person in a court with the intention of causing the court to pass an adverse judgement against that, in turn, can cause the person physical annoyance by way or imprisonment or financial injury by way of fine.

Dishonest Claim: A false claim made for any reason other than the reasons stated above.

Punishment

A person who has made claims such as above in a court of law shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The above actions may not be an offence under this section if:

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