INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - August 1^st - August 31^st - 2008

CONVICTION ON BASIS OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL CONFESSIONS OKAY: SC

THE Supreme Court has ruled that extra-judicial confessions of an accused could be relied upon for convicting the person. It is not open to any court to start with a presumption that extra-judicial confession is a weak evidence, said the apex court.

A bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice M K Sharma said: "An extra-judicial confession, if voluntary and true and made in a fit state of mind, can be relied upon by the court. The confession will have to be proved like any other fact. The value of the evidence as to confession, like any other evidence, depends upon the veracity of the witness to whom it has been made. The value of the evidence as to the confession depends on the reliability of the witness who gives the evidence. It is not open to any court to start with a presumption that extra-judicial confession is a weak type of evidence".

Justice Pasayat writing the verdict said: "It would depend on the nature of the circumstances, the time when the confession was made and the credibility of the witnesses who speak to such a confession. Such a confession can be relied upon and conviction can be founded thereon if the evidence about the confession comes from the mouth of witnesses who appear to be unbiased, not even remotely inimical to the accused, and in respect of whom nothing is brought out which may tend to indicate that he may have a motive of attributing an untruthful statement to the accused, the words spoken to by the witness are clear, unambiguous and unmistakably convey that the accused is the perpetrator of the crime and nothing is omitted by the witness which may militate against it. After subjecting the evidence of the witness to a rigorous test on the touchstone of credibility, the extra-judicial confession can be accepted and can be the basis of a conviction if it passes the test of credibility."

Extra-judicial confessions are those which are made by the party elsewhere than before a Magistrate or court. Extra-judicial confessions are generally those that are made by a party to or before a private individual which includes even a judicial officer in his private capacity. It also includes a Magistrate who is not especially empowered to record confessions under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or a Magistrate so empowered but receiving the confession at a stage when Section 164 of the Code does not apply.

The court dismissed an appeal of two convicts who were sentenced by a Trial court in Haryana on the basis of their extra-judicial confessions accepting committing a heinous crime.