Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Section 177

Failure to Keep Election Accounts

Section 177 punishes a person who, being required by any law or rule having the force of law to keep accounts of expenses incurred at or in connection with an election, fails to keep such accounts, with fine up to five thousand rupees. This is the final section of Chapter IX (Of Offences Relating to Elections).

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 177 to old IPC Section 171-I, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts.

BNS section	IPC, 1860 equivalent	Category
177	171-I	Substantively changed

Substantively changed: Old IPC Section 171-I capped the fine at "five hundred rupees." Section 177 raises this cap to "five thousand rupees." The remainder of the provision is otherwise identical. This is also the final section of Chapter IX; Chapter X (Of Offences Relating to Coin, Currency-notes, Bank-notes, and Government Stamps) begins at Section 178.

Quick Reference

Per the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: punishable with fine of 5,000 rupees — non-cognizable, bailable, and triable by a Magistrate of the first class. Not compoundable: Section 177 appears in neither compounding table of Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. In the First Schedule, “Magistrate of the first class” does not include Executive Magistrates (Explanatory Note (2)).

Statutory Text (Verbatim)

Whoever being required by any law for the time being in force or any rule having the force of law to keep accounts of expenses incurred at or in connection with an election fails to keep such accounts shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.

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)

Failure to keep legally required election expense accounts

Explanation (Lexovia's Commentary)

This section applies only to a person who is required, by some other law or rule having the force of law, to keep accounts of election-related expenses — it does not itself create that accounting obligation, but only punishes the failure to comply once it exists elsewhere. This complements the preceding section on illegal payments by ensuring that even authorised, properly incurred expenses are transparently recorded.

Illustration (Lexovia's Own Example)

A candidate's election agent, who is required under election law to maintain a record of all campaign expenditure, simply does not keep any such record throughout the campaign. This falls within Section 177.

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Related / Cross-Referenced Sections

FAQs

Does this section itself require anyone to keep election accounts?

No. It only punishes the failure to keep such accounts where some other law or rule having the force of law already imposes that requirement.

What is the maximum fine under this section?

Five thousand rupees, raised from the old law's five hundred rupees.

Is imprisonment possible under this section?

No. The section prescribes fine only, with no term of imprisonment.