Making a False Charge of an Offence Under the BNS (Section 248): IPC 211 Mapping (2026)

Explainer · New Criminal Code · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Someone files a false complaint against you to settle a score. A property dispute turns into a fabricated criminal case. A relative lodges a charge that both sides know is baseless, only to cause harm. The person who is falsely accused suffers arrest, cost, and loss of name, even when the case later collapses. Indian law treats the act of making a false criminal charge as a serious offence. Under the new criminal code, it is Section 248 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaced Section 211 of the old Indian Penal Code. This explainer sets out what the section covers, the exact old to new mapping, the punishment, and the key change from the old law. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem: a weaponised complaint

A false criminal case is a powerful weapon. The person who starts it may never intend to prove anything. The aim is to cause arrest, expense, and harm to reputation. By the time the case is thrown out, the damage is done.

The law answers this in two ways. The person wrongly accused can defend the false case, and the law also treats the making of the false charge as a crime by itself. The second answer is Section 248 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. It is aimed at the person who sets the law in motion dishonestly, knowing there is no lawful ground.

This offence is part of the group that protects the system of public justice. It keeps the machinery of the courts and the police from being used as a tool of private revenge.

02What Section 248 says

Section 248 of the BNS punishes a person who, with intent to injure another, institutes or causes to be instituted a criminal proceeding against that person, or falsely charges that person with an offence, knowing that there is no just or lawful ground for the proceeding or charge.

The punishment has two levels.

• Ordinary false charge: imprisonment of either description up to five years, or a fine up to two lakh rupees, or both.
• Serious false charge: if the false proceeding or charge was for an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for ten years or more, the punishment is imprisonment up to ten years and a fine.

03Old to new: IPC 211 to BNS 248

Section 211 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, is now Section 248 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The idea is the same, but the punishment is heavier.

The substantive change is clear. The ordinary limb rose from a two year ceiling to five years, and the Act now fixes a maximum fine of two lakh rupees. The serious limb rose from seven years to ten years. The new code treats a false criminal charge as more serious than the old law did.

04The ingredients of the offence

A conviction under Section 248 needs more than a case that failed. Each of these must be shown.

• A criminal proceeding or a charge. The accused must have started a criminal proceeding, or falsely charged a person with an offence.
• Falsity. The charge or proceeding must be false, meaning there was no just or lawful ground for it.
• Knowledge. The person must have known there was no just or lawful ground. An honest but mistaken complaint is not covered.
• Intent to injure. The act must be done with intent to cause injury to the person charged.

Section 248 does not punish a failed case. It punishes a false one, made knowingly and to cause harm.

05Not the same as acquittal

This is the point most often misunderstood. The fact that a person was acquitted, or that a complaint did not succeed, does not by itself prove a false charge. Many genuine cases fail for want of proof.

To attract Section 248, there must be material to show that the complainant knew there was no lawful ground and acted to injure. Courts are careful here, because the opposite rule would stop honest people from reporting crime for fear of a counter case. The threshold of knowledge and intent is what separates a false charge from an honest complaint that did not hold up.

06Practical points

• Keep the record of the false case. The orders, the final result, and any finding of the court about the nature of the complaint are the backbone of a Section 248 case.
• Show knowledge and intent, not just failure. Gather material that the complainant knew the charge was baseless and acted to harm.
• Mind the procedure for court-related offences. Offences that concern proceedings in a court often need a specific route to launch a prosecution. Check the correct procedure before you file.
• Consider the civil side too. A false case can also support a civil action for malicious prosecution, which is a separate remedy.
• Read the current text. The classification and procedure can change, so check the section and the First Schedule on the day you advise or file.

For related offences against public justice, see fabricating and using false evidence and causing disappearance of evidence or screening an offender.

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.

A Section 248 matter, whether you are meeting a false charge or building one, rests on how courts have separated a false prosecution from an honest case that simply failed. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments, from the Supreme Court since 1950 and the High Courts since 1990, with results in under five seconds, so you can see how the knowledge and intent threshold has been read. It also tracks the live side, the cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, searchable by party name or advocate name. Claw does not use customer case documents to train AI models.

Start a free Claw account to look up false-charge precedent and follow your own matter by party or advocate name. For the wider search, see our hub on case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of central Acts): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• Annotated BNS, Section 248: devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The BNS can be amended and courts interpret it over time, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions