BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA, 2023 · SECTION 318

BNS Section 318 — Cheating

Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 addresses “Cheating”. Read the provision below with its qualifications, exceptions and chapter context; the official source is linked alongside it.

Publisher: Ashish Sharma · Legal review pending. Prepare an error report →

IN PLAIN ENGLISH · EDITORIAL DRAFT

What this section means

Cheating involves deception that induces delivery or retention of property, or an act or omission causing or likely to cause specified harm. The section distinguishes general cheating from more specific forms with different punishments.

Dishonestly hiding facts can count as deception.
Subsection (4) concerns dishonest inducement to deliver property, or to make, alter or destroy a valuable security or something capable of becoming one.
A later failure to honour a promise does not, by itself, establish that the original promise was dishonest. Illustration (g) distinguishes initial deception from a later breach of contract.

Learning example

A seller takes an advance while deliberately pretending they intend to supply goods, although they have no such intention. Compare that with a seller who genuinely intends to perform at the outset but later breaches the agreement.

For law students: points to examine

Analyse the deception, the relevant intention, what it induced the other person to do, and the applicable subsection. Do not use one punishment or bail classification for all of section 318.

Source-grounded draft checked against the cited editions on 27 September 2026. Independent legal review pending. This explanation is not the statutory wording.

Punishment & classification

Punishment under the BNS

Provision	Situation	Punishment summary
318(2)	General cheating	Up to three years of imprisonment, or fine, or both.
318(3)	Cheating someone whose interest the offender was bound to protect	Up to five years of imprisonment, or fine, or both.
318(4)	Dishonest inducement concerning property or valuable security	Up to seven years of imprisonment; also liable to fine.

Central BNSS First Schedule

Provision	Situation	Cognizability	Bailability	Trial court
318(2)	General cheating	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Any Magistrate
318(3)	Duty-to-protect case	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Any Magistrate
318(4)	Property / valuable-security case	Cognizable	Non-bailable	Magistrate of the first class

Classification is based on the cited central schedule, not a case-specific bail assessment. Applicable amendments and special provisions must also be checked. “Non-bailable” does not mean bail is impossible. Understand these terms →

Sources: BNS statutory text below · Official BNSS PDF, page 183 · Saved copy

Common questions

Does an unpaid debt automatically amount to cheating?

No. Non-payment alone does not establish the required deception and inducement. The facts and intention when the transaction began matter.

Which cheating provision is non-bailable?

In the cited central First Schedule, section 318(4) is non-bailable, while sections 318(2) and 318(3) are bailable.

Read together

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Statutory text

318. Cheating.—(1) Whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and which act or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind, reputation or property, is said to cheat. ¶

Explanation.—A dishonest concealment of facts is a deception within the meaning of this section. ¶

Illustrations. ¶

(a) A, by falsely pretending to be in the Civil Service, intentionally deceives Z, and thus dishonestly induces Z to let him have on credit goods for which he does not mean to pay. A cheats. ¶

(b) A, by putting a counterfeit mark on an article, intentionally deceives Z into a belief that this article was made by a certain celebrated manufacturer, and thus dishonestly induces Z to buy and pay for the article. A cheats. ¶

(c) A, by exhibiting to Z a false sample of an article intentionally deceives Z into believing that the article corresponds with the sample, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to buy and pay for the article. A cheats. ¶

(d) A, by tendering in payment for an article a bill on a house with which A keeps no money, and by which A expects that the bill will be dishonoured, intentionally deceives Z, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to deliver the article, intending not to pay for it. A cheats. ¶

(e) A, by pledging as diamonds articles which he knows are not diamonds, intentionally deceives Z, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to lend money. A cheats. ¶

(f) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A means to repay any money that Z may lend to him and thereby dishonestly induces Z to lend him money, A not intending to repay it. A cheats. ¶

(g) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A means to deliver to Z a certain quantity of indigo plant which he does not intend to deliver, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to advance money upon the faith of such delivery. A cheats; but if A, at the time of obtaining the money, intends to deliver the indigo plant, and afterwards breaks his contract and does not deliver it, he does not cheat, but is liable only to a civil action for breach of contract. ¶

(h) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A has performed A’s part of a contract made with Z, which he has not performed, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to pay money. A cheats. ¶

(i) A sells and conveys an estate to B. A, knowing that in consequence of such sale he has no right to the property, sells or mortgages the same to Z, without disclosing the fact of the previous sale and conveyance to B, and receives the purchase or mortgage money from Z. A cheats. ¶

(2) Whoever cheats shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. ¶

(3) Whoever cheats with the knowledge that he is likely thereby to cause wrongful loss to a person whose interest in the transaction to which the cheating relates, he was bound, either by law, or by a legal contract, to protect, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. ¶

(4) 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 of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine. ¶

Source edition: 6 October 2025. This preview uses extracted India Code text. Editorial verification and checks for subsequent amendments and commencement notifications are pending. About the source →