Section 195 IPC - False Evidence to Procure Conviction of a Serious Offence

Section 195 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 dealt with giving or fabricating false evidence with the intention of causing, or with knowledge of the likelihood of causing, a person to be convicted of a non-capital offence punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for seven years or more.

Applicable legal period: This article explains Section 195 IPC as applicable before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. Earlier offences and proceedings remain subject to the applicable repeal, saving and transitional provisions.

Section 195 IPC - Statutory Provision

Giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of offence punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment.

Whoever gives or fabricates false evidence intending thereby to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, any person to be convicted of an offence which by the law for the time being in force in India is not capital, but punishable with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for a term of seven years or upwards, shall be punished as a person convicted of that offence would be liable to be punished.

Essential Ingredients of Section 195 IPC

Giving or fabricating false evidence: the conduct must fall within the IPC concepts of giving or fabricating false evidence.
Intention or knowledge: the person must intend to cause, or know it to be likely that the false evidence will cause, another person to be convicted.
Non-capital offence: the offence for which conviction is sought must not be capital.
Serious punishment threshold: that target offence must be punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for seven years or upwards.
Linked punishment: Section 195 makes the false-evidence offender punishable as a person convicted of that target offence would be liable to be punished.

Punishment Under Section 195 IPC

Requirement	Section 195 rule
Target offence	Must be non-capital and punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for 7 years or upwards
Mental element	Intent to cause, or knowledge that it is likely to cause, another person's conviction
Punishment	The offender is punishable as a person convicted of the target offence would be liable to be punished

Statutory Illustration - False Evidence to Procure Dacoity Conviction

A gives false evidence before a Court of Justice, intending thereby to cause Z to be convicted of a dacoity. The punishment of dacoity is imprisonment for life, or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, with or without fine. A, therefore, is liable to imprisonment for life or imprisonment, with or without fine.

Meaning of Giving and Fabricating False Evidence

Section 191 IPC defined giving false evidence, while Section 192 IPC defined fabricating false evidence. Section 195 applied an aggravated punishment rule where such conduct was directed at procuring conviction for the serious non-capital offences specified in the section.

Section 194 and Section 195 IPC - Difference

Section 194 IPC concerned false evidence intended, or known to be likely, to procure conviction of a capital offence. Section 195 concerned a different category: the intended conviction must be for an offence that is not capital but is punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for seven years or upwards.

Section 195 CrPC and Court Proceedings

Section 195 IPC should not be confused with Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Under the pre-BNSS procedural framework, Section 195(1)(b) CrPC restricted cognizance of specified offences, including offences under Sections 193 to 196 IPC, when committed in or in relation to a proceeding in a court, except upon the written complaint of that court or of a court to which it was subordinate, subject to the statutory conditions. Section 340 CrPC provided the associated procedure for considering such a complaint.

Historical Amendment Notes

The words referring to the law of British India or England were substituted by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1948.
The reference to "the States" was substituted by Act 3 of 1951, Section 3 and the Schedule.
"Imprisonment for life" replaced "transportation for life" by Act 26 of 1955, Section 117 and the Schedule, with effect from 1 January 1956.
The corresponding reference to transportation for life in the statutory Illustration was also replaced by Section 117 and the Schedule to Act 26 of 1955, with effect from 1 January 1956.
The concluding reference to "such transportation" in the Illustration was likewise substituted under the same 1955 amendment, with effect from 1 January 1956.

Pre-BNS Legal Position

Section 195 formed part of Chapter XI of the IPC concerning false evidence and offences against public justice. This page describes the IPC and CrPC framework before commencement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Where conduct or proceedings span the transition to the new criminal laws, the applicable repeal, saving and transitional provisions should be considered separately.

Legal information: This article provides general statutory information and does not substitute for legal advice in a particular criminal proceeding.