Indian Penal Code,1860
Act No : 45
Section :
Furnishing false information.
177. Furnishing false information.--Whoever, being legally boundto furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such,furnishes, as true, information on the subject which he knows or hasreason to believe to be false shall be punished with simpleimprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with finewhich may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both; or, if the information which he is legally bound to give respectsthe commission of an offence, or is required for the purpose ofpreventing the commission of an offence, or in order to theapprehension of an offender, with imprisonment of either descriptionfor a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. Illustrations (a) A, a landholder, knowing of the commission of a murder withinthe limits of his estate, wilfully misinforms the Magistrate of thedistrict that the death has occurred by accident in consequence of thebite of a snake. A is guilty of the offence defined in this section. (b) A, a village watchman, knowing that a considerable body ofstrangers has passed through his village in order to commit a dacoityin the house of Z, a wealthy merchant residing in a neighbouringplace, and being bound under clause 5, section VII, 3*RegulationIII, 1821, of the Bengal Code, to give early and punctual informationof the above fact to the officer of the nearest police station,wilfully misinforms the police officer that a body of suspiciouscharacters passed through the village with a view to commit dacoity ina certain distant place in a different direction. Here A is guilty ofthe offence defined in the latter part of this section.----------------------------------------------------------------------1. Subs. by the A.O. 1950, for "Zila Court".2. Ins. by Act 22 of 1939, s. 2.3. Rep. by Act 17 of 1862.140 1*[Explanation.-In section 176 and in this section the word"offence" includes any act committed at any place out of 2*[India],which, if committed in 2*[India], would be punishable under any of thefollowing sections, namely, 302, 304, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396,397, 398, 399, 402, 435, 436, 449, 450, 457, 458, 459 and 460; and theword "offender" includes any person who is alleged to have been guiltyof any such act.]
