Section 68 of the Copyright Act, 1957: Omitted Provision on False Statements to Authorities

Current legal status: Section 68 of the Copyright Act, 1957 has been omitted. The omission was made by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 and took effect from 1 August 2024. It should therefore not be presented as a currently operative penal provision.

Section 68 formerly created a specific criminal penalty for a person who knowingly made a false statement or representation either to deceive an authority or officer acting under the Copyright Act, 1957, or to procure or influence an act or omission concerning the Act. The provision prescribed imprisonment up to one year, or fine, or both.

What did Section 68 mean?

Before its omission, Section 68 targeted a knowingly false statement or representation. The provision was not framed to punish every inaccurate statement. Its text required knowledge that the statement or representation was false and also connected the statement with a specified purpose: deceiving an authority or officer in the execution of the Act, or procuring or influencing an act or omission relating to the Act or a matter under it.

Earlier text of Section 68

68. Penalty for making false statements for the purpose of deceiving or influencing any authority or officer.

Any person who,--

(a) with a view to deceiving any authority or officer in the execution of the provisions of this Act, or

(b) with a view to procuring or influencing the doing or omission of anything in relation to this Act or any matter thereunder,

makes a false statement or representation knowing the same to be false, shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Omission of Section 68 from 1 August 2024

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 provided that Section 68 of the Copyright Act, 1957 would be omitted. The amendment came into force for this provision on 1 August 2024. Accordingly, the former offence and punishment under Section 68 are retained on this page only for historical and research purposes.

Important: Omission of Section 68 does not mean that every false document, false declaration, forgery, cheating-related act or other unlawful conduct connected with a copyright matter is necessarily free from legal consequences. Liability, if any, depends on the facts and on other applicable provisions of law. The specific former offence under Copyright Act Section 68, however, is no longer in force.

Further 2026 change in Chapter XIII

The Copyright Act was amended again by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026. With effect from 15 June 2026, Section 67 was also omitted. This is relevant when reading older versions of Chapter XIII because both Sections 67 and 68 may appear in historical compilations even though they are no longer operative.

Official legal resources

For the consolidated statutory text and amendment history, refer to the Copyright Act, 1957 on India Code. Copyright administration, forms, rules, notices and online services are available from the Copyright Office, Government of India.

Related Copyright Act provisions

For surrounding provisions, see Section 67, Section 68A, Section 69 and Section 70. See also the Copyright Act, 1957 overview.

This page distinguishes the current law from the historical text of the omitted provision. Readers should verify the latest statutory text and notifications for a specific legal matter.