Section 204 punishes whoever pretends to hold any particular office as a public servant, knowing they do not hold that office, or falsely personates any other person holding such office, and in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour of that office, with imprisonment of either description for a term of not less than six months but which may extend to three years, and with fine.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which itself flags this mapping as a "Change," and independently against the text of Section 170 itself as found in the edition of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 consulted for this book.
| BNS section | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 204 | 170 | Substantively changed |
Substantively changed: the conduct element (pretending to hold, or falsely personating, a public office and acting under colour of it) is word-for-word identical to old IPC Section 170. The punishment, however, differs materially: old Section 170 provided imprisonment of either description up to two years, or fine, or both, with no mandatory minimum. Section 204 introduces a mandatory minimum sentence of six months, raises the maximum to three years, and makes fine mandatory in addition to imprisonment rather than an alternative to it.
Whoever pretends to hold any particular office as a public servant, knowing that he does not hold such office or falsely personates any other person holding such office, and in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour of such office, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with fine.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
The offence has two alternative conduct routes: pretending to hold a particular public office while knowing one does not actually hold it, or falsely personating another specific person who does hold that office. Either way, the offender must then, in that assumed character, do or attempt to do some act under colour of the office claimed.
No. Merely attempting an act under colour of the assumed office is enough; actual success is not required.
Imprisonment of either description for a term of not less than six months but which may extend to three years, and fine (fine is mandatory, not an alternative).
Old IPC Section 170 allowed a maximum of two years' imprisonment, or fine, or both, with no mandatory minimum. Section 204 sets a mandatory minimum of six months, raises the maximum to three years, and makes fine mandatory alongside imprisonment.