BNS Section 227: Giving false evidence (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 227 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) defines giving false evidence, the offence commonly called perjury. It covers a person who, legally bound by an oath or by law to tell the truth, makes a statement they know or believe to be false. The BNS has been in force since 1 July 2024 and replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC). If you still look up "IPC 191" or "IPC 193", Section 227 and its punishment section are what you now need. This explainer sets out what Section 227 covers, where the punishment sits, how it maps to the old law, and the classification. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number matters now

For over 160 years, the definition of giving false evidence was "Section 191" and the punishment was "Section 193". These are the backbone of perjury law. Since 1 July 2024 the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and the definition now sits in Section 227, with the punishment in Section 229.

This matters in practice. A complaint for an offence committed on or after 1 July 2024 cites the BNS numbers. Older matters keep their IPC numbers, because the law that applies is the law on the date of the offence. For some years both sets of numbers will appear in live files.

02What Section 227 covers

Section 227 defines the offence. A person gives false evidence if, being legally bound by an oath, or by an express provision of law, to state the truth, or being bound by law to make a declaration on any subject, that person makes a statement which is false and which they either know or believe to be false, or do not believe to be true.

The section applies whether the statement is made verbally or in any other way. A false statement about one own belief also counts. The illustrations in the provision cover examples such as a false claim about a debtor admission and a mistranslation by a sworn interpreter.

03Key ingredients

To make out giving false evidence under Section 227, the following must be shown:

• the person was legally bound by an oath or by an express provision of law to state the truth, or bound by law to make a declaration;
• the person made a statement; and
• the statement was false, and the person knew or believed it to be false, or did not believe it to be true.

The mental element is central. An honest statement that later turns out to be wrong is not giving false evidence. What matters is that the person did not believe their statement to be true when they made it.

04The punishment sits in Section 229

Section 227 carries no punishment of its own. The punishment for giving false evidence is in Section 229 of the BNS, and it depends on where the false evidence was given.

• In a judicial proceeding: whoever intentionally gives false evidence in any stage of a judicial proceeding, or fabricates false evidence for use in a judicial proceeding, faces imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to ten thousand rupees.
• In other cases: whoever intentionally gives or fabricates false evidence in any case other than a judicial proceeding faces imprisonment up to three years and a fine up to five thousand rupees.

On classification, giving false evidence is treated as non-cognizable and bailable, carried over from the old law, and is tried by a Magistrate.

05Old to new: IPC 191 and 193

The old IPC split giving false evidence into a definition and a punishment, and the BNS keeps that split.

So "IPC 191" is now Section 227, and "IPC 193" is now Section 229. The two are read together, just as under the old code.

06What changed from the old law

For this offence, the definition and the two-tier punishment are carried over from IPC Sections 191 and 193. The main change is that the BNS now states fixed fine ceilings, up to ten thousand rupees for false evidence in a judicial proceeding and up to five thousand rupees in other cases, where the old law left the fine open.

Because the core offence is unchanged, the large body of case law on Sections 191 and 193 of the IPC still guides how Sections 227 and 229 of the BNS are read. Where a threat is used to procure false evidence, separate provisions such as Section 224 of the BNS on threatening a public servant may also apply.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Whether a false statement crosses into perjury usually depends on how earlier benches have read intent and materiality, so the precedent you need may sit anywhere from a 1950 Supreme Court ruling to a recent High Court order. On Claw you can run a section, party or advocate search across a record of more than 30 crore judgments drawn from 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with Supreme Court coverage from 1950 and High Courts from 1990, and the results come back in under 5 seconds.

Your case files stay yours: Claw does not feed customer documents into training its AI models. Open a free Claw account to look up how Sections 227 and 229 and the old 191 and 193 have been applied, and to watch a live perjury matter by party or advocate name. For a wider sweep of the law, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• PRS Legislative Research (BNS overview and IPC comparison): prsindia.org
• Section 227, BNS (bare text): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

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