BSA Section 22 — Confession caused by inducement, threat, coercion or promise, when irrelevant in criminal proceeding

Summary

A confession made by an accused person is not considered evidence in a criminal proceeding if the court finds that the confession was brought about by any inducement, threat, coercion, or promise that related to the charge against the accused, came from a person in authority, and was strong enough, in the court's opinion, to give the accused reasonable grounds to believe that confessing would bring him some advantage or help him avoid some harm of a worldly nature connected to the proceedings against him.

Under the first proviso, if the confession is made after the effect of such inducement, threat, coercion, or promise has, in the court's opinion, been completely removed, then the confession is considered relevant and can be used.

Under the second proviso, if a confession is otherwise relevant, it does not become irrelevant just because it was made under a promise of secrecy, or because it was obtained through deception practised on the accused, or because the accused was drunk at the time, or because it was made in answer to questions that the accused need not have answered (whatever form those questions took), or because the accused was not warned that he was not bound to make the confession and that evidence of it could be used against him.

Official Text

A confession made by an accused person is irrelevant in a criminal proceeding, if the making of the confession appears to the Court to have been caused by any inducement, threat, coercion or promise having reference to the charge against the accused person, proceeding from a person in authority and sufficient, in the opinion of the Court, to give the accused person grounds which would appear to him reasonable for supposing that by making it he would gain any advantage or avoid any evil of a temporal nature in reference to the proceedings against him:

Provided that if the confession is made after the impression caused by any such inducement, threat, coercion or promise has, in the opinion of the Court, been fully removed, it is relevant:

Provided further that if such a confession is otherwise relevant, it does not become irrelevant merely because it was made under a promise of secrecy, or in consequence of a deception practised on the accused person for the purpose of obtaining it, or when he was drunk, or because it was made in answer to questions which he need not have answered, whatever may have been the form of those questions, or because he was not warned that he was not bound to make such confession, and that evidence of it might be given against him.

Referred to by

• BNSS §182 — No inducement to be offered

Old <-> New Code Mapping

• IEA §24 — Confession caused by inducement, threat, coercion or promise, when irrelevant in criminal proceeding
• IEA §28 — Confession caused by inducement, threat, coercion or promise, when irrelevant in criminal proceeding
• IEA §29 — Confession caused by inducement, threat, coercion or promise, when irrelevant in criminal proceeding