Section 247 punishes a person who fraudulently obtains a decree or order against another for a sum not due, for a larger sum than is due, or for property to which he is not entitled; who fraudulently causes a decree or order to be executed against anyone after it has been satisfied; or who fraudulently suffers or permits any such act to be done in his name. The punishment is imprisonment of either description for up to two years, or fine, or both. It corresponds to IPC Section 210, in the same words and with the same punishment.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau’s official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal) and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts. Section 247 is marked Exact — it descends from one section of the old Indian Penal Code, 1860, with no change in wording or punishment:
| BNS 247 | Covers | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 247 | Fraudulently obtaining decree for sum not due | S.210 “Fraudulently obtaining decree for sum not due” | Exact |
A systematic word-by-word comparison of the two texts, followed by a look at the printed pages of both Acts, found no difference between BNS Section 247 and IPC Section 210 apart from the section number and the position in which each Act prints the heading and page furniture. The three limbs are the same (fraudulently obtaining a decree or order against any person for a sum not due, a larger sum than is due, or property to which he is not entitled; fraudulently causing a decree or order to be executed against any person after it has been satisfied or for anything in respect of which it has been satisfied; and fraudulently suffering or permitting any such act to be done in his name), the words of each limb are the same, including punctuation, and the punishment is the same (imprisonment of either description for up to two years, or fine, or both, with no ceiling stated for the fine). The section heading is also identical.
Whoever fraudulently obtains a decree or order against any person for a sum not due, or for a larger sum than is due or for any property or interest in property to which he is not entitled, or fraudulently causes a decree or order to be executed against any person after it has been satisfied or for anything in respect of which it has been satisfied, or fraudulently suffers or permits any such act to be done in his name, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Section 247 looks at a decree or order from the side of the person who obtains it or has it executed. It has three limbs, each introduced by the word “fraudulently”: (1) fraudulently obtaining a decree or order against any person for a sum not due, for a larger sum than is due, or for any property or interest in property to which the person obtaining it is not entitled; (2) fraudulently causing a decree or order to be executed against any person after it has been satisfied, or for anything in respect of which it has been satisfied; and (3) fraudulently suffering or permitting any such act to be done in his name. The three are joined by “or” and are alternatives.
“Fraudulently”. Section 2(9) defines “fraudulently” as doing anything with the intention to defraud but not otherwise. The word appears at the start of each of the three limbs (“fraudulently obtains”, “fraudulently causes”, “fraudulently suffers or permits”), so an intention to defraud is part of every version of the offence. The section does not say who must be the target of the fraud; whether a particular step was taken with an intention to defraud is a question about the facts of that step.
The first limb — three grounds. The decree or order is obtained “against any person”, and it must be “for a sum not due”, “for a larger sum than is due”, or “for any property or interest in property to which he is not entitled”. The word “he” in the third ground refers back to the person obtaining the decree. The Sanhita does not define “decree” or “order”; in ordinary usage a decree is the formal outcome of a suit that fixes what a party is entitled to, and this page does not rely on any narrower meaning.
The second limb — execution after satisfaction. The person fraudulently causes a decree or order “to be executed against any person after it has been satisfied, or for anything in respect of which it has been satisfied”. The two parts are separate: a decree that has been fully satisfied and is nevertheless executed; and a decree that has been satisfied only in part and is executed for the part already satisfied. The Sanhita does not define “satisfied” or “executed”. The words of this limb do not say that the original decree must have been wrongly obtained; they speak of fraudulently causing a decree or order to be executed once it has been satisfied.
The third limb — “in his name”. The person “fraudulently suffers or permits any such act to be done in his name”. On the natural reading, “any such act” refers back to the acts described earlier in the section: obtaining a decree or order in the wrongful ways listed, or causing a decree or order to be executed in the wrongful ways listed. So a person in whose name another does such an act may be within the section if he fraudulently suffers or permits it. The Sanhita does not define “suffers” or “permits”; in ordinary usage they mean to allow.
Neighbouring sections. Section 245 (Fraudulently suffering decree for sum not due) is the mirror-image offence: it concerns the person against whom the decree or order is passed or executed, who fraudulently causes or suffers it; it has the same three grounds for the first limb and the same execution-after-satisfaction limb, and the same punishment. Section 246 (Dishonestly making false claim in Court) concerns making a claim in a Court which the person knows to be false, with fraudulent or dishonest intent or with intent to injure or annoy any person, and does not require any decree. Where a decree has been obtained on a claim made in a Court, the facts may need to be looked at under both Section 246 and this section; the text of the two sections does not say how they combine, and this page does not state a rule.
Punishment and classification. The punishment is imprisonment of either description for up to two years, or fine, or both. Under Section 4(c) imprisonment is of two descriptions, rigorous (with hard labour) and simple. The section states no sum to which the fine may extend, and Section 8(1) provides that where no sum is expressed the amount of fine is unlimited, but shall not be excessive. The BNSS First Schedule lists the offence as non-cognizable, bailable and triable by a Magistrate of the first class. Under BNSS Section 2(1)(o) a police officer has no authority to arrest without warrant in a non-cognizable case, and under BNSS Section 174(2) no police officer shall investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate having power to try such case or commit the case for trial. Because the offence is bailable, BNSS Section 478(1) applies: a person accused of a bailable offence who is arrested or detained without warrant by an officer in charge of a police station, or who appears or is brought before a Court, and is prepared to give bail, “shall be released on bail” (subject to the rest of that section). The offence appears in neither table of BNSS Section 359, and Section 359(9) provides that no offence shall be compounded except as provided by that section, so it is not compoundable. Section 247 is also one of the sections named in BNSS Section 215(1)(b)(i): when such an offence is alleged to have been committed in, or in relation to, any proceeding in any Court, no Court shall take cognizance of it except on the complaint in writing of that Court, or of an officer of that Court authorised in writing, or of some other Court to which that Court is subordinate.
The section begins with “Whoever”. Its first limb is about obtaining a decree or order, its second about causing a decree or order to be executed, and its third about fraudulently suffering or permitting any such act to be done “in his name”, so a person who lets another use his name can also be within the section.
The second limb applies where a person fraudulently causes a decree or order to be executed against any person “after it has been satisfied, or for anything in respect of which it has been satisfied”. The words of this limb do not say that the decree must have been wrongly obtained. As with every limb, the word “fraudulently” must be met.
Section 245 is about the person against whom the decree or order is passed or executed, who fraudulently causes or suffers it. Section 247 is about the person who fraudulently obtains the decree or order, who fraudulently causes it to be executed after it has been satisfied, or who fraudulently suffers or permits any such act to be done in his name. Both carry imprisonment of either description for up to two years, or fine, or both.
The BNSS First Schedule lists it as non-cognizable and bailable, triable by a Magistrate of the first class. For a bailable offence, BNSS Section 478(1) provides that the accused person who is prepared to give bail “shall be released on bail”, subject to the rest of that section. It is not in either compounding table of BNSS Section 359, so it is not compoundable.
A word-by-word comparison, including punctuation, found no difference in the operative text or the punishment. The section number is the only thing that differs; the heading is also identical.