As a medical Professional we routinely come across people asking for medical certificate. While most of these people have genuine medical problems there are a few who actually don’t have any medical illness but need medical certificate so that they can take leave on the pretext of being sick.

 Many times the person asking for medical certificate is known to us and we think that the concerned person will not lie and then we issue medical certificate without going into the details. And doing so can be a big blunder for your career. Not only it can land you into legal trouble but also your whole career can be ruined because of issuing a false medical certificate.

Let us understand the legal position vis-a-vis knowingly issuing a false medical certificate.

Section 197 of IPC says that 

Whoever issues or signs any certificate required by law to be given or signed, or relating to any fact of which such certificate is by law admissible in evidence, knowing or believing that such certificate is false in any material point, shall be punished in the same manner as if he gave false evidence.

So in essence issuing a false medical certificate is as bad as giving false evidence in the eyes of law.

Section 193 of IPC deals with giving false evidence.

Whoever intentionally gives false evidence in any of a judicial proceeding, or fabricates false evidence for the purpose of being used in any stage of a judicial proceeding, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine. And whoever intentionally gives or fabricates false evidence in any other case, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine