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IPC · Chapter X · Of contempts of the lawful authority of public servants

IPC section 180 in the BNS

IPC 180BNS 215

IPC section 180, “Refusing to sign statement”, is now BNS section 215 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From IPC 180 to BNS 215

Now BNS section 215. The maximum fine rises from ₹500 to ₹3,000.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 180 Refusing to sign statement

Whoever refuses to sign any statement made by him, when required to sign that statement by a public servant legally competent to require that he shall sign that statement, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 215 Refusing to sign statement

Whoever refuses to sign any statement made by him, when required to sign that statement by a public servant legally competent to require that he shall sign that statement, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to three thousand rupees, or with both.

The texts are India Code’s. The amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown. The PDFs linked below carry the full history.

Old law or new?

Which one applies to a case

The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)). The repeal does not reach back: under section 358(2), penalties and punishments incurred for offences committed against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed. An act done before 1 July 2024 is therefore dealt with under the IPC section; an act done on or after that date, under the BNS.

Sources

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