Confession is an acknowledgment of guilt made by an accused person while they are in detention, either directly or indirectly. A "confession," in the words of Justice Stephen, is an acknowledgment made at any time by a person accused of a crime that states or implies that he committed that crime.
A confession is a statement made by the accused admitting guilt. As a result, if the maker does not implicate himself, the remark will not be considered a confession. A mixed statement that contains some confessional statements but will be accepted and lead to acquittal is also not a confession. As a result, a statement that contains incorrect information about oneself that would make the crime reprehensible cannot be regarded as a confession. This is the case because the court lacks the authority to accept only the incriminating portions of a confession while rejecting the exculpatory portions (statement of self-defense).
Legal Provision:
Subsection (1) enables the magistrate to record a person's statement or confession regardless of whether he has jurisdiction over the case. If he lacks such jurisdiction, section (6) will be applicable. Statements that do not amount to a confession or charges made by someone who is not a witness are included under the word "statement”. A warning is mentioned in Section 164's subsection 2. The Magistrate is required by law to first notify the suspect that he is not required to confess and that doing so could be used against him. Anyone who refuses to confess won't be subjected to police coercion thanks to the safeguards in Subsection 3.
When an accused person was held in judicial custody for more than two days prior to making a confession, it was determined that this amount of time was adequate to remove any fear or influence from the police, if any, and allow the accused to give a confession voluntarily. Subsection (4) states that the confession must be recorded in accordance with section 281's guidelines and must include the maker's signature. The next step is for the Magistrate to respond to this confession in a memo.
The accused must sign the confession in order for it to be valid. If it is not, the confession would not be crucial to the commission, and the irregularity is remediable under section 463. In subsection, it is described how a statement should be recorded (5). Even after the filing of the case's charge sheet, the witness's statement may still be recorded under this clause. A requirement of Section 5A is that the Magistrate records the prosecutrix's statement in accordance with Section 164(5A) of the CrPC. As soon as the incident is reported, the police officer has a duty to take the victim to the nearest court judge so that she can provide a statement to his or her attention.
According to this subsection (6), the Magistrate who records a confession or statement under this section must send it to the Magistrate who will investigate or try the case.
Evidentiary value of confession:
Because confessions are a poor type of proof, they must be backed up by other evidence. It may be used in accordance with sections 157 and 145 of the Indian Evidence Act to support or refute testimony given in court. The statement cannot be used as a main piece of evidence, but it can be used to corroborate and refute by having the individual who gave the statement cross-examined.
Case Law:
The following guidelines were established by the Supreme Court of India in RABINDRA KUMAR PAL alias DARA SINGH v. REPUBLIC OF INDIA:
The provisions of Section 164 CrPC. must be followed in letter and in spirit.
In order to eliminate any possibility of an outside influence coming from a source interested in the prosecution, a thorough inquiry must be made of the accused regarding the custody from which he was produced and the treatment he had been receiving in that custody before recording the confessional statement.
The accused should be questioned by the magistrate as to why he wants to make a statement that will undoubtedly hurt his case.
It is important to give the maker enough time to reflect.
In the event that he chooses not to make a confessional statement, he should be guaranteed protection from any type of anticipated torture as well as pressure from the authorities.
In court cases, it is advisable to consult a lawyer. If the case has been filed in Delhi then the Top 10 Lawyers in Delhi can be consulted. Likewise, the Top 10 Lawyers in Jaipur can be consulted if the case has been filed in Jaipur. The Top 10 Lawyers in Bangalore can be consulted if the case has been filed in Bangalore.
You can also contact Lead India for seeking advice. We provide free legal advice in which you can talk to a lawyer and can even ask a legal question.
Visit us: — https://www.leadindia.law
Call Us: +91–8800788535
Email: care@leadindia.law
Facebook: — https://www.facebook.com/leadindialaw
LinkedIn: — https://www.linkedin.com/company/76353439
Twitter: — https://twitter.com/leadindialaw
Pinterest: — https://in.pinterest.com/lawleadindia
Instagram: -https://www.instagram.com/leadindialawofficial
Comments