Confessions play a very important part of criminal investigations and can also be many times unreliable.The law protects the accused for confessioning before to police officers or while in custody of police officer.But there is an exception that allows the confession which leads to the discovery of facts based on information given by the accused.
What is Discovery of Facts?
Discovery of facts as provided under Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam,2023 means decoding or uncovering the information provided by the accused person which leads to discovery of any evidence.This is also known as ‘Doctrine of Confirmation by Subsequent Facts’.
The proviso of Section 23 of BSA is an exception to Section 22 ,23(1) and 23(2) which imposes a complete ban on admissibility of any confession made by the accused either in police custody or to a police officer in person.This section lifts the ban if the statement is distinctly related to ‘Discovery of Facts’.
Under the proviso of Section 23 of BSA, Discovery statements are given by the accused while he is in police custody and he discloses the place of hiding of a particular fact and on the basis of that statement subsequently an object is discovered.For the application of this section,
- The prosecution must establish that the information given by the accused led to the discovery of some fact disposed of by him.
- It is evident that the police had not previously learnt from other sources the discovery of that fact and the police got the knowledge of the fact from the information given by the accused first.
The proviso of Section 23 of BSA is based on a principle that even though the evidence made by the person in the custody of police officer relating to confessional or other statements , is considered to be tainted and is inadmissible, but if the truth of the information given by person is assured by the discovery of a fact it may be presumed to be untainted and if proved will be admissible.But only ‘so much of the information’ as relates distinctly to the fact discovered is admissible.
Key Components
- In police custody the information is received from an accused.
- It is relating to a specific fact or evidence
- The discovered fact is a direct result of the information provided by the accused.
Exceptions
The only exception under Section 23 of BSA is that the information received from the accused person is used to discover a specific fact or evidence.The information can be taken as an evidence, even if it’s a confession.
Examples
- An accused tells the information regarding the location of a hidden weapon, which leads to the discovery of that exact particular weapon.
- A person in custody of the police gives the information about a co-conspirator, which leads to their identification.
Why is this Important?
The discovery of facts as provided under the proviso of Section 23 of BSA is important for investigations, as it helps in finding out the hidden evidence. By giving the permission to use the information given by the accused, the law allows the investigators to follow leads and gather evidence,which ultimately leads to a fair trial.
By understanding this exception as provided under the proviso of Section 23 if BSA,it can be ensured that the legal system helps in balancing the need for evidence with the protection of individual rights.
Source:
