Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Section 236

False Statement Made in Declaration Which Is by Law Receivable as Evidence

Section 236 punishes whoever, in any declaration made or subscribed by them, which declaration any Court or any public servant or other person is bound or authorised by law to receive as evidence of any fact, makes any statement which is false, and which they either know or believe to be false or do not believe to be true, touching any point material to the object for which the declaration is made or used, in the same manner as if they had given false evidence.

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 236 to old IPC Section 199, and independently against the text of Section 199 itself in the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

BNS section	IPC, 1860 equivalent	Category
236	199	Exact

Exact: the wording and the punishment-by-reference are carried forward from old IPC Section 199 without substantive change. The wording differences are that "Court of Justice" has been modernized to "Court" and that "authorized" is spelt "authorised" in the BNS.

Quick Reference

Per the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: punishable with “the same as for giving false evidence” — non-cognizable, bailable, and triable by the court by which the offence of giving false evidence is triable. Not compoundable: Section 236 appears in neither compounding table of Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

Statutory Text (Verbatim)

Whoever, in any declaration made or subscribed by him, which declaration any Court or any public servant or other person, is bound or authorised by law to receive as evidence of any fact, makes any statement which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, touching any point material to the object for which the declaration is made or used, shall be punished in the same manner as if he gave false evidence.

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)

False statement in a legally receivable declaration

Explanation (Lexovia's Commentary)

Where a person makes or subscribes a declaration that a Court, public servant, or other person is legally bound or authorised to receive as evidence of a fact, and includes in it a statement that is false and that they know or believe to be false, or do not believe to be true, on a point material to the object of the declaration, they are liable in the same manner as someone who gave false evidence directly.

Illustration (Lexovia's Own Example)

A person subscribes a statutory declaration before a public servant authorised to receive it as evidence of a fact, knowingly including a false statement on a point material to why the declaration was made. This falls within the section.

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Related / Cross-Referenced Sections

FAQs

Does this section apply to any declaration, or only certain kinds?

Only to a declaration which a Court, public servant, or other person is bound or authorised by law to receive as evidence of a fact.

What is the punishment under this section?

The same punishment as for giving false evidence.

What changed compared to the old law?

Nothing substantive. The wording differences are that "Court of Justice" has been modernized to "Court" and that "authorized" is spelt "authorised" in the BNS.