Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 171D
repealedPersonation at elections
Whoever at an election applies for a voting paper on votes in the name of any other person, whether living or dead, or in a fictitious name, or who having voted once at such election applies at the same election for a voting paper in his own name, and whoever abets, procures or attempts to procure the voting by any person in any such way, commits the offence of personation at an election.
Why this exists
Free and fair elections depend on each person getting exactly one genuine vote. Historically, impersonation—casting a vote in someone else's name or voting more than once—was a common way to rig results, especially before strict voter identification and electoral rolls existed. Parliament added this section to the Indian Penal Code to criminalize such fraud directly, working alongside election laws like the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which also penalizes personation.
How courts read it
Indian courts have treated personation as a serious offence striking at the root of democratic elections, often read alongside Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (which bars a person from voting if they've already voted or are impersonating another). Courts have emphasized that both the actual impersonator and anyone who helps arrange the fraud (abettors) can be convicted, since the provision explicitly covers abetment and attempts, not just the completed act.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Personation only counts if the person you impersonate is alive and would object.
Fact: The law explicitly covers impersonating both living and dead people, and even completely made-up names. - Myth: Only the person who actually casts the fraudulent vote can be punished.
Fact: The section also punishes anyone who abets, procures, or attempts to procure such personation, even if they didn't vote themselves.