Section 485 IPC: Making or Possessing an Instrument for Counterfeiting a Property Mark
Section 485 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 dealt with making or possessing instruments for counterfeiting a property mark and possession of a property mark for falsely denoting ownership of goods. This article explains the provision in the legal framework applicable immediately before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force.
Text of Section 485 IPC
Meaning and Scope of Section 485 IPC
Section 485 targeted preparatory conduct connected with false property marking. It did not require the section to be read as limited to the completed use of a false property mark. Its wording specifically covered making or possessing particular counterfeiting instruments for the stated purpose and possession of a property mark for falsely representing ownership of goods.
Two Situations Covered by Section 485
- Counterfeiting instruments: making or possessing any die, plate or other instrument for the purpose of counterfeiting a property mark.
- False ownership marking: possessing a property mark for the purpose of denoting that goods belong to a person to whom they do not in fact belong.
Meaning of Property Mark
Section 479 IPC supplied the relevant concept of a "property mark". Under the IPC scheme, a mark used for denoting that movable property belonged to a particular person was called a property mark.
Meaning of Counterfeit
The expression "counterfeit" was defined in Section 28 IPC. In substance, a person counterfeited when he caused one thing to resemble another thing, intending by means of that resemblance to practise deception, or knowing it to be likely that deception would thereby be practised.
The statutory definition did not require exact imitation. It also contained a presumption concerning intention or knowledge where the resemblance was such that a person might be deceived, until the contrary was proved.
Purpose Required by Section 485 IPC
The purpose for which the instrument or property mark was made or possessed was central to the statutory language. Mere physical possession, divorced from the purpose specified in Section 485, was not how the section defined the offence. In the first limb, the die, plate or other instrument had to be for the purpose of counterfeiting a property mark. In the second limb, the property mark had to be possessed for falsely denoting ownership of goods.
Punishment Under Section 485 IPC
| Offence | Making or possessing a die, plate or other instrument for counterfeiting a property mark, or possessing a property mark for falsely denoting ownership of goods |
|---|---|
| Maximum imprisonment | Imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years |
| Fine | Fine could be imposed |
| Combined punishment | Imprisonment and fine could both be imposed |
1959 Substitution of Section 485
Relationship With Other Property Mark Offences
Section 481 IPC dealt with using a false property mark, and Section 482 IPC prescribed punishment for that conduct. Section 483 IPC dealt with counterfeiting a property mark used by another, while Section 484 IPC addressed specified marks used by public servants.
The following provisions continued the same statutory subject: Section 486 IPC dealt with selling goods marked with a counterfeit property mark; Section 487 IPC dealt with false marks on receptacles containing goods; Section 488 IPC dealt with punishment for making use of such false marks; and Section 489 IPC dealt with tampering with a property mark with intent to cause injury.
Legal information: This article explains the historical IPC provision for general information. The law applicable to particular conduct should be determined with reference to the relevant date, facts and statutory saving provisions.