BSA Section 23: Confession to police officer (formerly IEA 25, IEA 26 and IEA 27)
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BSA 23: Confession to police officer
From 1 July 2024
(1) No confession made to a police officer shall be proved as against a person accused of any offence.
(2) No confession made by any person while he is in the custody of a police officer, unless it is made in the immediate presence of a Magistrate shall be proved against him:
Provided that 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 discovered, may be proved.
What it replaced in the Evidence Act
BSA 23(1) ← IEA 25 · Confession to police-officer not to be provedChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: Words "not to be proved" are excluded from heading.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
No confession made to a police-officer , shall be proved as against a person accused of any offence.
BSA 23(2) ← IEA 26 · Confession by accused while in custody of police not to be proved against himChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: Heading is dropped as the section is included as a subsection. Word "whilst" is replaced by "while" and words "such person" are replaced by "him".
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
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. [Explanation. –– In this section “Magistrate” does not include the head of a village discharging magisterial functions in the Presidency of Fort St. George *** or elsewhere, unless such headman is a Magistrate exercising the powers of a Magistrate under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1882 (10 of 1882).]
BSA 23, proviso ← IEA 27 · How much of information received from accused may be provedChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: Heading is dropped as the section is included as proviso.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
Provided that, when any fact is deposed to as discovered inconsequence 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.
Which one applies
Under section 170(2) of the BSA, an application, trial, inquiry, investigation, proceeding or appeal already pending on 1 July 2024 is dealt with under the Evidence Act; one begun on or after that date, under the BSA.
Read BSA section 170 →Judgments decided under IEA 25
They remain the law on IEA 25. Where the provision changed in the move, read what changed before relying on one for an offence after 1 July 2024.
Sources
- Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 to the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, page 3.
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 11.
- The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act 1 of 1872), as amended, India Code, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice.
BPR&D is the Bureau of Police Research & Development (Ministry of Home Affairs); NCRB the National Crime Records Bureau. Their correspondence tables are training aids, not law. This page is general information, not legal advice on any case; the bare Acts as published by the Government of India are the authority.