Legal Provisions of Section 205 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
False personation for purpose of act or proceeding in suit or prosecution:
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This section penalises false personation for the purpose of act or proceeding in a suit or prosecution. It states that whoever falsely personates another, and in such assumed character either makes an admission, or makes a statement, or confesses judgment, or causes issuance of any process or becomes bail or becomes security, or does any other act either in any suit or in criminal prosecution shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to three years, or with fine, or with both.
The section requires that there must be a personation of another, and that personation must be false and must lead to an assumed character. The person personating must in such assumed character make any admission or statement, or must confess judgment, or must cause issuance of any process or must become bail or security, or must do any other act in any suit or criminal prosecution.
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To personate means to pretend to be another person. Even though the section says that there must be an assumed character, it does not clarify as to whether personation of an imaginary person is personation within the meaning of this section. While section 416 of the Code specifically states through the explanation therein that the offence of cheating by personation is committed whether the individual personated is a real or imaginary person, section 205 is silent about it. It seems that like section 416, personating an imaginary person should make one guilty under this section also. Similarly, it seems that liability under this section should exist even though the person personated may have given his consent of such personation.
The offence under this section is non-cognizable, bailable and non-compoundable, and is triable by court of session, metropolitan magistrate or magistrate of the first class.