Confessions Made To Police Officers: Legal Positions Under The Bharatiya Sakshiya Adhiniyam, 2023
- IJLLR Journal
- Apr 8
- 1 min read
Cheran S, B.Com LL.B., (Hons.), SRM School of Law, SRM University.
V. Mahalingam, Assistant Professor, SRM School of Law, SRM University.
ABSTRACT
The enactment of the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, marks the important structural reform of Indian evidence law since the colonial Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Still, in one of the most constitutionally sensitive areas of criminal procedure, which is the admissibility of confessions made to the police officers, the legislature preserved the existing framework while introducing the modifications, and those implications remain unexplained. This paper undertakes a doctrinal analysis of the law which governs the confession under Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, examining and evaluating whether the new statue meaningfully departs from its previous statues or merely changes the words of the colonial inheritance. Including constitutional jurisprudence under Articles 20(3) and 21 of the Constitution of India, landmark Supreme Court decisions, and comparative frameworks from the United Kingdom and the United States, the paper argues that the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 represents a cosmetic rather than a substantial reform. While the statute retains the absolute bar on police confessions and the conditional discovery exception, the structural gaps still exist in the new statute, the absence of mandatory procedural safeguards such as video recording and access to counsel creates conditions for persistent misuse. This paper concludes by advancing a targeted reform proposals designed to align the Indian confession law with constitutional guarantees and International fair trial standards.
Keywords: Confessions, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, police officer, Indian Evidence Act.
