§ SECTION 23 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER II — RELEVANCY OF FACTS

Confession to a police officer, or in police custody, when it shall not be proved

Read two separate bars: confessions to police under subsection (1), and confessions while in police custody under subsection (2). The Magistrate-presence exception belongs to the second bar. The discovery proviso admits only information distinctly related to the fact discovered.

How to read Section 23

Separate the recipient, the custody setting and the discovery proviso.

To a police officer

A confession to a police officer is excluded against the accused under subsection (1). Voluntariness alone does not remove that bar.

While in police custody

Subsection (2) has an exception for immediate presence of a Magistrate. That exception does not remove the separate subsection (1) bar.

Information leading to discovery

The proviso concerns only information distinctly related to the fact discovered, whether that portion is confessional or not.

The bare Act

The section in its own words — colour-keyed by what each phrase does.

Section 23 · verbatim

(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.

In short: A confession to police and a confession while in police custody raise separate questions. Do not carry the Magistrate-presence exception into subsection (1). The proviso then allows only the distinctly discovery-related information. A discovered fact can include the place and the accused’s knowledge; recovery alone does not establish who concealed or used the object.

Correspondence: IEA sections 25, 26 and 27 are combined in BSA section 23.

Glossary

confession

An admission of the offence, or substantially all facts constituting it. Not every statement to police is a confession.

police officer

Whether an officer falls within this expression depends on the governing law, powers and applicable case law; a job title or uniform alone is not the test.

police custody

Custody can extend beyond formal arrest or confinement in a lock-up; assess the actual police control over the person.

immediate presence of a Magistrate

The express exception within subsection (2). It does not dispense with subsection (1) or other requirements governing a confession.

fact discovered

A fact found in consequence of the information, including the relevant place and knowledge, rather than merely the object recovered.

relates distinctly

The admissible information must be specifically connected to the fact discovered; unrelated admissions about the offence remain outside this proviso.

The picture

Ask three questions separately. A qualification to one rule does not erase another rule.

The section, part by part

Tap a part — the picture-story tells it first; the word-by-word text and example follow.

The two barsThe discovery gate

the two barsWhat the police may not prove

In one lineSubsection (1) bars a confession to police; subsection (2) separately bars a custody confession unless made in a Magistrate’s immediate presence.

No confession made to a police officerMeaningThis concerns a confession made to a police officer, not every statement the accused makes.

shall be proved as against a person accused of any offence.MeaningSubsection (1) prevents that confession being proved against the accused; read the separate discovery proviso on its own terms.

No confession made by any person while he is in the custody of a police officer,MeaningSubsection (2) concerns a confession made while the person is in police custody, including one made to someone other than a police officer.

unless it is made in the immediate presence of a MagistrateMeaningImmediate presence of a Magistrate is an exception to subsection (2); it does not displace subsection (1).

shall be proved against him:MeaningWithout the subsection (2) exception, that custody confession shall not be proved against the person.

Teaching exampleA voluntarily confesses to a police officer. Section 23(1) still applies. If, while in police custody, A instead makes a confession to a person other than a police officer, ask separately whether it was made in the immediate presence of a Magistrate and whether the other legal requirements are satisfied.

Reading boundaryDo not say that a Magistrate’s presence makes every confession to police admissible. A Magistrate recording a confession must also comply with the applicable procedural safeguards, including BNSS section 183.

the discovery gateWhen custody words may still be proved

In one lineThe proviso admits only the information distinctly related to the fact discovered in consequence of it—not merely an isolated location phrase.

Provided that when any fact is deposed to as discoveredMeaningThere must be an actual discovery of a fact, proved in evidence.

in consequence of information received from a person accused of any offence, in the custody of a police officer,MeaningThe discovery must follow information received from a person accused of an offence who was in police custody.

so much of such information,MeaningOnly the part meeting the statutory connection to the discovered fact is admitted.

whether it amounts to a confession or not,MeaningA distinctly related portion is not excluded merely because that portion is confessional.

as relates distinctly to the fact discovered,MeaningThe test is a distinct connection to the discovered fact, including relevant knowledge; it is not a rule admitting location words alone.

may be proved.MeaningThe proviso permits proof of that limited information, subject to its requirements being established.

Teaching exampleIn custody, A gives information identifying a concealed knife and its location. Investigators recover it as a result. Identify the information distinctly related to that discovery, including the relevant knowledge. An added account of stabbing the victim is not admitted merely because it accompanies the disclosure.

Reading boundaryNeither the whole confession nor just a geographical phrase is the automatic answer. Prove the actual disclosure, the discovery and their connection. Recovery alone does not establish concealment or use by the accused.

Connected provisions

§ 22

IEA 1872, §§ 25–27

Police-officer bar, custody bar, and the discovery proviso — three sections of 1872, now one.

Sources and reading note

Read BSA section 23 and BNSS section 183. For discovery, see Shahaja v. State of Maharashtra (14 July 2022), paragraphs 42–47. Reasoning check: which part of a disclosure explains knowledge, and which part merely narrates the offence?

Explanatory corrections reviewed on 24 September 2026. Statutory quotation and commentary are kept separate.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 23: Confession to a police officer