Section 218 IPC: Public Servant Framing Incorrect Record or Writing
Section 218 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 punished a public servant who, while officially charged with preparing a record or other writing, knowingly framed it incorrectly with the intention or knowledge specified by the section.
Section 218 IPC - statutory provision
Whoever, being a public servant, and being as such public servant, charged with the preparation of any record or other writing, frames that record or writing in a manner which he knows to be incorrect, with intent to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, loss or injury to the public or to any person, or with intent thereby to save, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby save, any person from legal punishment, or with intent to save, or knowing that he is likely thereby to save, any property from forfeiture or other charge to which it is liable by law, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
Meaning and scope of Section 218 IPC
The provision applied to a public servant who was officially responsible for preparing a record or other writing. The record or writing had to be framed in a manner that the public servant knew to be incorrect. The section therefore contained both an official-duty requirement and an express knowledge requirement.
The incorrect record or writing also had to be connected with at least one of the consequences specified in the section: causing loss or injury to the public or any person, saving a person from legal punishment, or saving property from forfeiture or another charge imposed by law.
Essential ingredients of Section 218 IPC
- The accused must be a public servant.
- In that capacity, the public servant must be charged with preparing a record or other writing.
- The public servant must frame that record or writing in a manner known by him or her to be incorrect.
- The act must be accompanied by the intention or knowledge of likelihood of causing loss or injury to the public or any person; or
- it must be intended, or known to be likely, to save a person from legal punishment; or
- it must be intended, or known to be likely, to save property from forfeiture or another charge to which it is liable by law.
Punishment and classification under Section 218 IPC
| Legal point | Pre-BNS position |
|---|---|
| Punishment | Imprisonment of either description up to 3 years, or fine, or both |
| Cognizable or non-cognizable | Cognizable |
| Bail | Bailable |
| Court competent to try | Magistrate of the first class |
Knowledge that the record is incorrect
The wording of Section 218 required the public servant to know that the record or writing was incorrect. Accordingly, the statutory formulation was directed at knowing falsification or incorrect framing of an official record or writing coupled with the required intention or knowledge concerning its consequence.
Loss or injury to the public or a person
Unlike a provision limited only to shielding an offender, Section 218 also expressly covered an incorrect official record framed with intent to cause, or knowledge of the likelihood of causing, loss or injury to the public or to any person.
Saving a person from legal punishment
The section further applied where the incorrect record or writing was framed with the intention of saving a person from legal punishment, or with knowledge that it was likely to have that effect.
Saving property from forfeiture or other charge
The property limb of Section 218 covered an intention to save, or knowledge of the likelihood of saving, property from forfeiture or another charge to which the property was liable by law.
Section 217 and Section 218 IPC
Section 217 IPC concerned a public servant knowingly disobeying a direction of law with the specified intention or knowledge. Section 218 dealt more specifically with a public servant charged with preparing a record or writing who knowingly framed it incorrectly for one of the purposes or consequences stated in the provision.
Related IPC provisions
For connected provisions concerning public servants and interference with legal punishment, see Section 217 IPC, Section 219 IPC and Section 220 IPC.
This page describes the Indian Penal Code position before implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The law applicable to a particular matter depends on the relevant facts and date of the alleged conduct.