Whoever uses as genuine any stamp, knowing it to be a counterfeit of any stamp issued by Government for the purpose of revenue, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.
IPC Section 260: Simplified Explanation
IPC Section 260 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) addresses the offence of using a government stamp known to be counterfeit as if it were genuine. This section explicitly targets individuals who knowingly use or attempt to use counterfeit government stamps for any purpose, thereby intending to deceive or defraud.
Is IPC Section 260 bailable?
No, IPC Section 260 is a non-bailable offence. This means that the accused does not have an automatic right to bail and must apply for bail before a magistrate or judge, who will then decide whether or not to grant bail based on the specifics of the case.
IPC Section 260 Punishment
The punishment for IPC Section 260 is imprisonment for either description for a term that may extend to seven years and a fine. This indicates the seriousness of the offence, given that using counterfeit government stamps can lead to significant fraud and loss of public trust in government-issued documents and stamps.
Example of IPC Section 260
Consider a scenario where a person named Ramesh is involved in a business transaction requiring government stamps on official documents. Knowing that the stamps he possesses are counterfeit, Ramesh uses them to stamp the documents, intending to deceive the other party into believing that the documents are officially endorsed. The fraud is discovered when the documents are submitted for verification and the counterfeit nature of the stamps is revealed. Upon investigation, it was found that Ramesh was aware that the stamps were counterfeit when he used them. In this case, Ramesh can be prosecuted under IPC Section 260 for using counterfeit government stamps as genuine.
