Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Section 172

Personation at Elections

Section 172 defines the offence of personation at an election as applying for a voting paper in the name of another person (living or dead) or a fictitious name, or voting again in one's own name after already having voted, or abetting, procuring, or attempting to procure such voting, subject to a proviso for a person lawfully authorised to vote as a proxy. This section defines the offence only; its punishment is separately set out in Section 174.

Please note: This page reflects our understanding of the law as of the date it was last reviewed. Parliament, the State Legislatures, and the courts continue to amend and interpret this law, and this page may not yet reflect the most recent change. Please verify the current text of the law independently, and consult a licensed advocate for advice on your own matter, before relying on this page.

Corresponding Provision Under Prior Law

Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 172 to old IPC Section 171D, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts.

BNS section	IPC, 1860 equivalent	Category
172	171D	Exact

Exact: The definitional sentence and the proviso excluding a person lawfully authorised to vote as a proxy for an elector, in so far as the person votes as such a proxy, both match old IPC Section 171D word for word. The proviso was inserted into Section 171D by the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003, with effect from 22 September 2003, and carries over unchanged into Section 172.

Quick Reference

This section defines the offence of personation at elections but does not itself prescribe a punishment. It does not appear as its own row in the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — the Schedule contains no separate entry for Section 172. The punishment for this offence is instead set out in Section 174 (Punishment for undue influence or personation at an election).

Statutory Text (Verbatim)

Whoever at an election applies for a voting paper on votes in the name of any other person, whether living or dead, or in a fictitious name, or who having voted once at such election applies at the same election for a voting paper in his own name, and whoever abets, procures or attempts to procure the voting by any person in any such way, commits the offence of personation at an election:

Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to a person who has been authorised to vote as proxy for an elector under any law for the time being in force in so far as he votes as a proxy for such elector.

Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.

Explanation & Illustration (Lexovia's Commentary — Not Statutory Text)

Personation by voting in another's name, in a fictitious name, or voting twice, subject to the proxy-voting proviso

Explanation (Lexovia's Commentary)

This section covers three forms of personation: applying for a voting paper in the name of another living or dead person, applying in a fictitious name, or applying for a second voting paper in one's own name at the same election after already voting once. Abetting, procuring, or attempting to procure such voting by any person is equally covered. The statute's own proviso protects a person lawfully authorised to vote as a proxy for an elector, so that legitimate proxy-voting arrangements are not caught by this section.

Illustration (Lexovia's Own Example)

A person applies for a voting paper using the name of a deceased relative who is still listed on the electoral roll, intending to cast a second vote. This falls within Section 172. By contrast, a person lawfully registered as a proxy voter for an elector who votes on that elector's behalf falls within the statute's own proviso and commits no offence.

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Related / Cross-Referenced Sections

FAQs

Where is the punishment for personation under this section?

This section only defines the offence. Its punishment is separately set out in Section 174.

Does a lawful proxy voter commit this offence?

No. The statute's own proviso excludes a person lawfully authorised to vote as a proxy for an elector, in so far as the person votes as such a proxy.

Does merely helping someone else commit personation count as an offence under this section?

Yes. Abetting, procuring, or attempting to procure the voting by any person in any of the ways described is expressly covered.