Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 259
repealedHaving possession of counterfeit Government stamp
Whoever has in his possession any stamp which he knows to be a counterfeit of any stamp issued by Government for the purpose of revenue, intending to use, or dispose of the same as a genuine stamp, or in order that it may be used as a genuine stamp, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Why this exists
This section punishes the intent to eventually pass off a fake stamp as real, even before that actually happens. It works alongside the sections on selling and using counterfeit stamps to cover every stage at which a fake stamp might cause harm, from creation to circulation to use. Replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, effective 1 July 2024.