Section 262 IPC: Using Government Stamp Known to Have Been Used Before

Section 262 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 dealt with the fraudulent reuse of a Government stamp issued for revenue purposes when the person using it knew that the stamp had already been used.

Text of Section 262 IPC

Meaning and scope of Section 262 IPC

The provision protected Government revenue against deliberate reuse of a revenue stamp. Mere physical use of an old stamp was not, by itself, enough to reproduce every element of the offence. The section expressly required fraudulent conduct or an intention to cause loss to the Government, together with knowledge that the Government revenue stamp had already been used.

The words "stamp issued by Government for the purpose of revenue" identify the subject matter of the offence. The prosecution therefore had to connect the alleged act with a Government-issued revenue stamp and prove the mental elements stated in the section.

Essential ingredients of the offence

For Section 262 IPC to apply, the facts had to establish the statutory ingredients of the provision, including:

1. there was a stamp issued by the Government for the purpose of revenue;
2. the stamp had already been used;
3. the accused used that stamp for a purpose;
4. the accused knew that the stamp had previously been used; and
5. the use was fraudulent or was accompanied by an intent to cause loss to the Government.

The knowledge and intent requirements are important because Section 262 was directed at knowing and fraudulent reuse, not an innocent or accidental use lacking the mental element specified by the statute.

Punishment and classification under the pre-BNS law

These procedural classifications are drawn from the First Schedule to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as applicable to the IPC offence before the new criminal codes took effect.

What does "fraudulently" mean?

For the IPC framework, the expression "fraudulently" was governed by Section 25 IPC, which stated that a person is said to do a thing fraudulently if he does that thing with intent to defraud but not otherwise. Section 262 additionally used the alternative statutory expression "with intent to cause loss to the Government".

Accordingly, the circumstances surrounding the alleged reuse, the accused's knowledge, and the purpose for which the previously used revenue stamp was employed could be material to determining whether the required mental element existed.

Difference between Sections 261, 262 and 263 IPC

The neighbouring provisions addressed related but distinct conduct involving Government revenue stamps. Section 261 IPC dealt with removing or effacing writing or removing a used stamp so that the stamp could be used for a different writing or document. Section 262 dealt with the knowing fraudulent use of a Government revenue stamp that had already been used. Section 263 IPC dealt, among other things, with erasing or removing a mark denoting that a Government revenue stamp had been used.

Current corresponding provision under BNS

With effect from 1 July 2024, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the IPC for the new criminal-law framework, subject to the applicable statutory savings and transitional rules. The corresponding provision is Section 184 BNS, titled "Using Government stamp known to have been before used." Its substantive formulation continues the same core prohibition and provides imprisonment up to two years, or fine, or both.

This page is intentionally retained as an IPC reference for the legal position before implementation of the BNS and for matters in which the earlier law remains relevant.

Frequently asked questions

This page is a general legal reference to the statutory position and is not a substitute for advice on the facts of a particular case.