Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 72008102008 years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section history
Section 420 — Cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property
Consolidated view is experimental and may be broken for certain provisions.
Amendments
Section 420 — Original text to 1 January 2020superseded
Section 420 — 1 January 2020 to 30 December 2025rewritten (not yet redlined) — Criminal Law Reform Act 2019
Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver or cause the delivery of any property to any person, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.
[Indian PC 1860, s. 420]
Section 420 — From 30 December 2025 (current)restructured by Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2025
(1)Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver or cause the delivery of any property to any person, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine or to caning or to both.
(2)Whoever cheats by remote communication and thereby dishonestly induces any of the acts mentioned in subsection (1) shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and with caning with not less than 6 strokes, and shall also be liable to fine.