The offence of forgery is the making of a false document with the criminal intention to cause

damage to any person. the object of forgery is normally to cheat, to cause wrongful distribution of
property by means of a false document. Forgery can thus be described as merely the means to
achieve an end—the end being deception. a person guilty of ‘forgery’ when he, with intent to use or
induce somebody accept a document as genuine, ‘makes a false instrument’.

In cheating, as well as in forgery deception is caused or intended to be caused by false

representation. The main difference between cheating and forgery is that in cheating the deception
is oral, whereas in forgery it is in writing. Section 465 provides punishment for the offence of
forgery which may extend to two years of imprisonment or with fine or with both.

The essential ingredients of ‘forgery as defined in s 463 can be enumerated as as:

(i) the making of a false document or false electronic record or part of it;

(ii) such making should be with intent to:

(a) cause damage or injury to the public, or to any person; or

(b) support any claim or title; or

(c) cause any person to part with property; or

(d) enter into any express or implied contract; or

(e) commit fraud or that fraud may be committed.

The person who makes a false document or false electronic record commits forgery. It is essential
that the false document or the false electronic record, when made, must either appear on its face
to be, or be in fact one, which, if true, would possess some legal validity. In other words, the
document or the electronic record must be legally capable of effectivating the fraud intended.

The ingredients need to be proved in relation to forgery of part of documents are:

(i) that the accused made, signed, sealed or executed that part of the document;
(ii) that part of the document was not made, signed, sealed or executed by or by the authority of the
person by whose authority it purports to have been made, signed, sealed or executed;
(iii) that the accused had knowledge of (ii);
(iv) that the accused had the intention of causing it to be believed that the part of the document
was made, signed, sealed or executed by or by the authority of a person by whom or by whose
authority he knows it was not made, signed, sealed or executed, and (v) that there was dishonesty
or fraud on the part of the accused.

Not all types of forgery are penal offences. Only those acts of forgery, which are accompanied by
the elements of deception and injury, can be said to be covered by the definition of forgery under s
463 and 464, IPC. The various elements and forms of forgery are elaborated in the Code in the
subsequent provisions between s 466—471, IPC, which prescribe varying terms of punishment
depending on the severity of the effects of the forgery