Section 244 IPC: Mint Employee Causing Coin to Differ from Legal Weight or Composition
Section 244 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 punished a person employed in a lawfully established mint who intentionally caused a coin issued from that mint to differ in weight or composition from the standard fixed by law.
Section 244 IPC - Statutory Provision
Whoever, being employed in any mint lawfully established in India, does any act, or omits what he is legally bound to do, with the intention of causing any coin issued from that mint to be of a different weight or composition from the weight or composition fixed by law, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Historical amendment note: The words "British India" were successively substituted by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1948, the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950 and Act 3 of 1951, section 3 and the Schedule, resulting in the word "India" in the provision.
Meaning of Section 244 IPC
Section 244 was a special offence directed at persons employed in a lawfully established mint. It covered both a positive act and an omission to perform something the employee was legally bound to do, provided the conduct was accompanied by the intention of causing a coin issued from that mint to have a weight or composition different from the standard fixed by law.
Essential Ingredients
- The accused must be employed in a mint lawfully established in India.
- The accused must do an act, or omit something that the accused is legally bound to do.
- The act or omission must concern a coin issued from that mint.
- The accused must intend to cause the coin to differ in weight or composition from the weight or composition fixed by law.
Punishment and Classification Before BNS
| Offence | Mint employee intentionally causing coin to issue with a weight or composition different from that fixed by law |
|---|---|
| Punishment | Imprisonment of either description for a term up to 7 years and fine |
| Cognizable | Yes |
| Bail | Non-bailable |
| Triable by | Magistrate of the first class |
Who Could Commit the Offence
The statutory language confined Section 244 to a person employed in a mint lawfully established in India. Employment at such a mint was therefore an express element of the offence. The provision was not framed as a general offence applicable to every person who altered a coin.
Act or Legally Required Omission
Liability could arise from an affirmative act or from failure to do something that the mint employee was legally bound to do. In either case, the statutory intention had to be present. An accidental departure in weight or composition, without the intention specified in Section 244, would not by itself reproduce all the ingredients of this provision.
Weight or Composition Fixed by Law
The prohibited result contemplated by Section 244 was a coin issued from the mint having a weight or composition different from the legally fixed standard. Thus, the section protected the integrity of the official minting process by criminalising intentional interference by a mint employee with those legally prescribed characteristics.
Section 244 and Section 245 IPC - Difference
Section 244 dealt with intentional interference by a mint employee causing a coin to differ from the legally fixed weight or composition. Section 245 dealt instead with unlawfully taking a coining tool or instrument from a mint. The two provisions therefore addressed different forms of misconduct connected with a mint.
Related IPC Provisions
Section 244 formed part of Chapter XII of the IPC concerning offences relating to coin and Government stamps. Sections 231 and 232 addressed counterfeiting coin and Indian coin; Sections 233 to 235 addressed instruments or material for counterfeiting; Sections 242 and 243 addressed specified possession of counterfeit coin; and Section 245 dealt with unlawfully taking coining instruments from a mint.
Official Legal Sources
For authoritative statutory text and the procedural classification applicable immediately before BNS implementation, consult the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the First Schedule to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 through India Code.