Threatening a Person to Give False Evidence Under the BNS (Section 232): IPC 195A Mapping (2026)
What threatening a person to give false evidence means under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which IPC section it replaces, the punishment, and whether it is cognizable and bailable. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · BNS · False Evidence and Offences Against Public Justice
Witness intimidation is one of the main reasons criminal trials collapse. A threat to a witness, or to someone the witness cares about, can turn truthful evidence into a lie and defeat the whole case. Indian criminal law punishes the person who makes that threat, not only the witness who lies. Since 1 July 2024 the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) has replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and threatening a person to give false evidence, the old Section 195A of the IPC, is now Section 232 of the BNS. This explainer sets out what Section 232 covers, which old IPC section it replaces, the punishment, and whether the offence is cognizable and bailable. Last verified October 2026.
- New code: threatening a person to give false evidence is Section 232 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
- Old code: it replaces Section 195A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
- Punishment: imprisonment up to 7 years, or fine, or both; if an innocent person is convicted and sentenced to death or over 7 years because of the false evidence, the threatener gets the same punishment and sentence.
- Classification: generally bailable; the cognizable status and trial court follow the connected false-evidence offence.
- Research and tracking: Claw searches judgments and tracks cases under this section across 9,102 forums.
01The problem: pressure on a witness
A trial depends on witnesses telling the truth. When a witness is threatened, the court may never hear the truth at all. The law treats the threat as a serious offence against public justice, because it attacks the trial itself, and it punishes the person who applies the pressure, separate from any charge against the witness who gives false evidence.
The practical issue today is the number. The old Section 195A of the IPC, which was added to meet exactly this problem, is now Section 232 of the BNS. A charge drawn today uses Section 232, while older authorities are indexed under Section 195A of the IPC.
Threatening a person to give false evidence is now Section 232 of the BNS, the old Section 195A of the IPC. It punishes the person who applies the pressure.
02What Section 232 says
Section 232 of the BNS punishes whoever threatens another with injury to their person, reputation, or property, or to the person or reputation of anyone in whom that person is interested, with intent to cause that person to give false evidence. The key ideas are:
- A threat of injury to the person, their reputation, or their property, or to someone they care about.
- Made with the intent to cause the person threatened to give false evidence.
The offence is complete with the threat and the intent; the witness does not actually have to give the false evidence. A second provision raises the stakes: where an innocent person is convicted and sentenced because of false evidence procured by such a threat, the person who made the threat faces a much heavier punishment.
Related offences against public justice
The false-evidence group in the BNS runs together, so you often cite these sections side by side. See the explainers on giving false evidence under Section 229, fabricating false evidence under Section 233, and a false charge of offence under Section 248.
03The old-to-new mapping
The mapping is a direct carry-over of the offence to a new number.
| New code (BNS, 2023) | Old code (IPC, 1860) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Section 232 | Section 195A | Threatening any person to give false evidence |
So a person searching for "section 195a in bns" is looking for Section 232 of the BNS. A charge drawn today uses Section 232, while older authorities are indexed under Section 195A of the IPC, so a full search covers both.
04Punishment and classification
Section 232 sets two levels of punishment:
- The threat itself: imprisonment of either description up to seven years, or a fine, or both.
- Where an innocent person is convicted and sentenced because of the false evidence procured by the threat, to death or to imprisonment for more than seven years: the person who made the threat is punished with the same punishment and sentence as that innocent person.
On classification, the offence is generally treated as bailable. Whether it is cognizable, and which court tries it, tend to follow the connected false-evidence offence, so these should be confirmed for the matter at hand.
05What changed, and a note on the number
The substance of the offence is carried over from Section 195A of the IPC, including the two tiers: the base punishment for the threat, and the mirror punishment where an innocent person is convicted and sentenced because of the procured false evidence. So case law under Section 195A still guides how Section 232 is read.
One point needs care. The BNS renumbered the false-evidence chapter, so the old number did not carry over. In the BNS, Section 230 is a different offence, giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure the conviction of a person for a capital offence (the old Section 194), while threatening a person to give false evidence is Section 232. Always confirm the section by its text. For the wider renumbering, see how the BNS changed the IPC.
06Where 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 threat-to-a-witness charge rarely stands alone; it tracks the main trial it grew out of, so you are usually following two matters and two sets of hearing dates at once. Claw is built for exactly that spread. Its judgment search covers the Supreme Court from 1950 and the High Courts from 1990, more than 30 crore decisions in all, and returns authorities under both Section 232 of the BNS and the old Section 195A of the IPC in under five seconds. It also keeps the connected matters under watch across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, logging each order and the next date by party name or advocate name, so neither the complaint nor the main case drifts out of sight. For the wider view, see case search across Indian courts.
Open a free Claw account to search and follow these matters by party or advocate name. Claw does not file a case or give legal advice, and it does not use customer case documents to train its AI models.
07Sources and further reading
- India Code (official text of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
- Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
- BNS Section 232 (reference text): devgan.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Section numbers and punishments change through amendments and notifications, so check the current official text and take advice from counsel before you act.
08Frequently asked questions
Which section of the BNS covers threatening a witness to give false evidence?
It is Section 232 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. It punishes threatening a person with injury to their person, reputation, or property, or to someone they care about, to make them give false evidence. It replaced Section 195A of the IPC from 1 July 2024.
Which IPC section is now BNS Section 232?
Section 232 replaces Section 195A of the IPC. The offence is carried over, so a search for "section 195a in bns" points to Section 232.
What is the punishment under Section 232 BNS?
For the threat itself, imprisonment up to seven years, or a fine, or both. If an innocent person is convicted and sentenced to death or to more than seven years because of the false evidence procured by the threat, the person who made the threat faces the same punishment and sentence.
Does the witness have to actually give false evidence?
No. The offence is complete with the threat made with intent to cause false evidence. The heavier punishment applies only where an innocent person is in fact convicted and sentenced because of the procured false evidence.
Is the offence cognizable or bailable?
It is generally treated as bailable. Whether it is cognizable, and which court tries it, tend to follow the connected false-evidence offence, as under the old Section 195A. Confirm the current classification against the First Schedule of the BNSS.
Can I find and track Section 232 cases in Claw?
Yes. Claw searches more than 30 crore judgments under both Section 232 of the BNS and the old Section 195A of the IPC in under five seconds, and follows live cases, orders and hearings by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. It supports the research and tracking, but does not file the case or give legal advice.