Law and You >Procedural Laws > Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 > Situational Problems BSA: Set 01 (Admission and Confession)
Q1. Ram and Raghav are charged with the offence of murder of Gopal. During the trial Raghav made a statement before a Magistrate implicating Ram in the offence.
a) Can statement of Raghav can be used against Ram?
b) What is the evidential value of the statement of Raghav?
a) Yes, the statement of Raghav can be used against Ram.
b) The statement of Raghav has evidentiary value with the facts in issue and relevance of facts. According to Section 24 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, when more persons than one are being tried jointly for the same offence, and a confession made by one of such persons affecting himself and some other of such persons is proved, the Court may take into consideration such confession as against such other person as well as against the person who makes such confession.
Q 2. A is on his trial for the murder of โC. There is evidence to show that C was murdered by โAโ & โBโ, โB- said โAโ & I murdered โCโ.
a) What is the effect of said statement?
b) Whether it can be used against A? Give reason.
a) According to Section 15 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, an admission is a statement, oral or documentary or contained in electronic form, which suggests any inference as to any fact in issue or relevant fact, and which is made by any of the persons, and under the circumstances, hereinafter mentioned.ย Thus, the statement of B is an admission. Under Section 19 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, such an admission is relevant and may be proved as against the person (in this case B) making it.
b) No, it cannot be used against โAโ because A and B are not tried jointly. Hence, Section 24 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 is not applicable. According to Section 24 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, when more persons than one are being tried jointly for the same offence, and a confession made by one of such persons affecting himself and some other of such persons is proved, the Court may take into consideration such confession as against such other person as well as against the person who makes such confession.
Q 3. Raghu is arrested for committing a murder. Immediately after his arrest, Raghu voluntarily confesses to the police officer in the police station. He discloses in his confession, the place where he has hidden the weapon with which he committed the offence.
a) Will Raghuโs statement amount to confession?
b) When can a confession be taken to be relevant as per law? Explain.
a) According to Section 23(1) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, no confession made to a police officer, shall be proved as against a person accused of any offence. Hence confession of Raghu to the police officer in police station is not admissible in evidence and cannot be brought on record by the prosecution and is insufficient to convict the accused.
b) According to Section 23(2) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, no confession made by any person whilst he is in the custody of a police officer, unless it be made in the immediate presence of a Magistrate, shall be proved as against such person. Thus the confession made by any person in the immediate presence of a Magistrate, shall be proved as against such person. It becomes relevant as per the law.
In this case however, the discovery of weapon with which he committed the crime on his confession to the police officer is relevant under proviso attached to Section 23 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
Q4. Mr. Akshay was suspected of murder of Miss Karuna. He was apprehended by police and brought to the police station. The police inspector had was well built and had a rough voice and appearance. Being afraid that he would beat, Mr. Akshay gave in writing to the Police inspector, while in his custody, that โI have murdered Miss Karuna with a knife and I have hidden it in an old house, I can show it to you if you take me thereโ. In this situation.
a) What portion if any is admissible in evidence out of the statement by Mr. Akshay to police?
b) What is the reason why the entire statement cannot be accepted in evidence?
a) Under Proviso attached to Section 23 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, the portion of statement โI have hidden it (knife) in an old house, I can show it to you if you take me thereโ is admissible. Because it can be used for discovery of weapon of crime. According to Section 23 of the Act, when any fact is deposed to as discovered in consequence of information received from a person accused of any offence, in the custody of a police officer, so much of such information, whether it amounts to a confession or not, as relates distinctly to the fact thereby discovered, may be proved.
b) The phrase used โso much of such informationโ in Section 23 of the Act, means no other disclosure statement or confession made by the accused to the police officer is admissible in evidence, so far it does not relate to the discovery of weapon. Similarly, according to Section 23(1) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, no confession made to a police officer, shall be proved as against a person accused of any offence. Hence confession to the police officer in police station is not admissible in evidence and cannot be brought on record by the prosecution and is insufficient to convict the accused.
Q 5. Miss Aruna, an unmarried girl was accused of murder of her newly born child. She was sent in police custody and later on, sent for medical examination. While being examined by the Doctor, Miss. Aruna made a confession to the Doctor that she has committed murder of her said newly born child, at that time this statement was overheard by the Police Constable who was waiting outside to take back Miss Aruna to the police Custody-
a) Is the confession made by Miss Aruna to the Doctor โadmissibleโ in evidence?
b) What is the binding effect of such a confession on Miss Aruna ?
a) It is not admissible in evidence as it is extra-judicial confession. Any confession is to be done in front of the Magistrate. Under Section 23(1) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, the confession to police officer and under Section 23(2) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 confession in police custody are not admissible in the Court.
b) An extra-judicial confession, if it is voluntary, truthful, reliable and beyond reproach, is an efficacious piece of evidence to establish the guilt of the accused. It requires to be corroborated by reliable independent evidence.
Q 6. A and B are jointly tried for the murder of C. It is proved that A said that he and B had murdered C. Whether the statement given by A is a confession? Discuss the relevancy of this statement with the aid of relevant legal provision.
Yes, statement of A is confession. A and B are jointly tried for the murder of C. It is proved that A saidโโB and I murdered Cโ. The Court may consider the effect of this confession as against B. It is to be noted that both A and B are tried jointly. Hence provisions of Section 24 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, are applicable.
According to Section 24 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, when more persons than one are being tried jointly for the same offence, and a confession made by one of such persons affecting himself and some other of such persons is proved, the Court may take into consideration such confession as against such other person as well as against the person who makes such confession.ย
Q 7. A police officer arrests a person โAโ on the charge of theft. He has no evidence against the accused, but wants to show his superiors that he has solved the case. So he offers Rs. 5000/- to the accused for giving a confession before a Magistrate. โAโ agrees to this offers. In this situation:
a) In the police officer legally right in giving amount to the caused for getting a confession?
b) What will be the effect of such confession if it is later revealed and proved that the confession was obtained by paying money to the accused?
a) The police officer is not legally right in giving amount to the caused for getting a confession.
b) Here the confession is taken by inducement. According to Section 22(1) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 a confession made by an accused person is irrelevant in a criminal proceeding, if the making of the confession appears to the Court to have been caused by any inducement, threat, coercion or promise having reference to the charge against the accused person, proceeding from a person in authority and sufficient, in the opinion of the Court, to give the accused person grounds which would appear to him reasonable for supposing that by making it he would gain any advantage or avoid any evil of a temporal nature in reference to the proceedings against him. Thus the confession has no evidentiary value.
Q 8. Mr. A and five other persons were charged of dacoity in a village. Mr. A was seriously injured made a dying declaration and in that course narrated how dacoity had been committed and who all had taken part in it.
a) Is dying declaration of Mr. โAโ admissible in evidence?
b) What is the evidentiary value of the dying declaration of โAโ against other accused?
a) In the problem it is mentioned that he is seriously injured. Thus, he is not dead. Hence the statement is not dying declaration. As he is alive, he can be brought in front of court, to give his testimony. At the same time it is not a statement of cause of his death. Hence it is not admissible as dying declaration in the Court.
b) In this case the former statements of witness may be proved to corroborate later testimony as to same fact. According to Section 160 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 in order to corroborate the testimony of a witness, any former statement made by such witness relating to the same fact, at or about the time when the fact took place, or before any authority legally competent to investigate the fact, may be proved.
All of them are tried in the same time, hence under Section 24 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, when more persons than one are being tried jointly for the same offence, and a confession made by one of such persons affecting himself and some other of such persons is proved, the Court may take into consideration such confession as against such other person as well as against the person who makes such confession.ย
Q 9. Ashok, who is an accused for the offence of murder, issued a letter to the police officer explaining therein how he has committed the murder.
a) Whether this letter of Ashok can be called confession?
b) What is the evidentiary value of the said letter?
a) The accused is writing letter to the police officer. Thus we can assume that he is writing the letter to police officer when he is not in custody of the police office. Thus under Section 23(1) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 it is not a confession to the police officer. Even if, Ashok had given it in front of the police officer it is not admissible in the Court under Section 23(1) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
b) But this letter can be assumed as former statement by Ashok. The former statements of witness may be proved to corroborate later testimony as to same fact. According to Section 160 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 in order to corroborate the testimony of a witness, any former statement made by such witness relating to the same fact, at or about the time when the fact took place, or before any authority legally competent to investigate the fact, may be proved.
More Situational Problems:
- Set 02: Dying Declaration
- Set 03: Burden of Proof
- Set 04: Privileged Communication
- Set 05: Documentary Evidence
- Set 06: Witness
- Set 07: Miscellaneous
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