Legal Provisions of Section 419 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Punishment for cheating by personation:
This section punishes the offence of cheating by personation which is defined under section 416. It says that whoever cheats by personation shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to three years, or with fine, or with both. The punishment is harsher in comparison to that of simple cheating under section 417 which shows that the authors of the Code believed that cheating by personation is a graver offence than simple cheating.
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The Supreme Court has ruled that where the contents of the charge clearly state that the main object of a criminal conspiracy was to commit cheating by personation, and the accused was also charged under section 419 along with other charges, it does not matter if contents of the charge do not mention cheating by personation specifically, and it would not mean that the charge of cheating simplicitor under section 417 has been brought against him.
The offence under this section is cognizable, bailable and compoundable when permitted by the court trying the case, and is triable by any magistrate.