Whoever prints or engraves any matter, knowing or having good reason to believe that such matter is defamatory of any person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 501: Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory
The Indian Penal Code, 1860Central Act · Act 45 of 1860
Repealed. This text is published for reference. It is not in force, and it should not be relied on as current law without checking what replaced it. Repealed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, with effect from 1 July 2024
Where this provision sits
| Act | The Indian Penal Code, 1860 |
|---|---|
| Section | 501 |
| Marginal note | Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory |
| Jurisdiction | Central |
| Status | Repealed |
| Judgments citing it | 5 |
Judgments that turned on this provision
- APPLN/2891/2021 of SHAIKH ZAKIR SHAIKH SAGIR Vs THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANOTHERBombay High Court · 2025-03-03
- APPLN/3087/2023 of DNYANRANJAN KEDARPRASAD CHAUDHARI Vs THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANOTHERBombay High Court · 2025-01-02
- ABA/461/2019 of GUNWANT SHANKARRAO SURYAWANSHI Vs STATE OF MAH., THR. PSO PS TQ UMERKHED DIST YAVATMALBombay High Court · 2019-08-28
- APEAL/143/2000 of NULSI WADIA . Vs PHIROZE J. DASTUR AND OTHERS .Bombay High Court · 2015-09-23
- APPLN/1878/2003 of SANJAY JASKARAN JAIN Vs LAXMAN HIRALAL KADAM and ORSBombay High Court · 2009-07-15
Find the provision, not just read it
The full text above is free, and it stays free. What a free CourtMesh account adds is everything you cannot do by reading one page at a time:
- Search 49,000+ Central and State enactments by what a provision says, not by its number
- Jump from any section to every judgment that has applied it
- Search 300 million+ Indian court records alongside the statute
- Ask a research agent to find and read the case law on a provision for you
Free account. No card. About a minute to create.
Create a free accountNeed this as data, not as a page? The Indian Penal Code, 1860 is one of 49,000+ enactments on CourtMesh. The Indian court cases API serves the case law that cites these provisions over JSON, with API documentation and plans and pricing. See also the judgment library.