You are only guilty if you knew a coin was fake before you got it.

Even if you find out later, trying to pass off a coin you now know is altered is still a punishable offence, just with a lower maximum sentence.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 254

repealed

Delivery of coin as genuine which, when first possessed, the deliverer did not know to be altered

Whoever delivers to any other person as genuine or as a coin of a different description from what it is, or attempts to induce any person to receive as genuine, or as a different coin from what it is, any coin in respect of which he knows that any such operation as that mentioned in sections 246, 247, 248 or 249 has been performed, but in respect of which he did not, at the time when he took it into his possession, know that such operation had been performed, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine to an amount which may extend to ten times the value of the coin for which the altered coin is passed, or attempted to be passed.§

Why this exists

This section fills a gap between complete innocence and full guilty knowledge. It recognises that a person might honestly receive a bad coin without knowing it, only discover the defect later, and then choose to pass it on anyway. Because the guilty knowledge came later, the law treats this as less blameworthy than sections that require knowledge from the very start, and sets a lighter maximum punishment accordingly. Repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, effective 1 July 2024.

Common misconceptions

Myth: You are only guilty if you knew a coin was fake before you got it.
Fact: Even if you find out later, trying to pass off a coin you now know is altered is still a punishable offence, just with a lower maximum sentence.