Relevance of Retracted Confession

Submitted By: Agrani Goyal (06LLB17)

Supervised By: Ms. Sarita Sangwan

National Law University

Delhi, India
2019
 Declaration

I hereby declare that the work reported in this project ‘Relevance of Retracted Confession’
submitted at National Law University, Delhi is an outcome of my work carried out under the
supervision of Ms. Sarita Sangwan. I have duly acknowledged all the sources from which
the ideas and extracts have been taken. To the best of my understanding, the project is free
from any plagiarism.

Agrani Goyal
III Year
Batch of 2017-2022
National Law University, Delhi

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 Table of Contents

Declaration .................................................................................................................................. i
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................... iii
Synopsis .................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... iv
Scope and Applicability of Provision .................................................................................... v
Literature Review ................................................................................................................... v
Research Questions ............................................................................................................... vi
Hypothesis ............................................................................................................................. vi
Research Methodology.......................................................................................................... vi
Chapterization ......................................................................................................................vii
Bibliography .........................................................................................................................vii

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 Acknowledgment

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the invaluable assistance and constant guidance
provided by Ms. Sarita Sangwan throughout the course of this project. I would like to thank
her profusely for her pertinent advice during consultations and her support in the navigation
of research for this project.
I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Priya Rai, Senior Librarian for
assisting me in utilizing the library resources and in the collection of data for research.

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 Synopsis

Introduction
There is no meaning of “confession” in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and it shows up for the
first time in Section 24.1 Unmistakably, confessions are only a type of admission which is
characterized under Section 17 of the Act. It is right to state that each confession
fundamentally is an admission however every admission does not really add up to a
confession.2 Sections 17 to 23 expound on admission while Sections 24 to 30 explain
confessions.

In Pakala Narayan Swami v. Emperor3, Lord Atkin said, “An admission should either
concede in wording the offense or at any rate significantly every one of the certainties which
establish the offense. A confession of a gravely implicating reality, even a definitively
implicating actuality isn't in itself a confession.”

On account of Palvinder Kaur v. State of Punjab4, the Supreme Court endorsed the Privy
Council's view in Pakala Narayan Swami case on more than two scores. First, that the
definition of confession is that it should either concede the blame in wording or concede
considerably every one of the realities which comprise the offense. Besides, that a stirred up
explanation which despite the fact that contains some confession booth articulation will at
present lead to quittance, is no admission. In this way, an explanation that contains self-
exculpatory issue which if genuine would refute the issue or offense, can't add up to a
confession.

But in Nishi Kant Jha v. State of Bihar5 the Supreme Court called attention to that there was
not much or depending on a piece of the confession booth proclamation and dismissing the

1
Sudhi Ranjan Bagri, “What is the evidentiary value of retracted confessions in India?”, IPLEADERS.IN, April 6,
2016 and it can be accessed at https://blog.ipleaders.in/evidentiary-value-retracted-confessions-india/.
2
Ibid.
3
AIR 1939 PC 47.
4
1952 AIR 354.
5
1969 AIR 422.
rest, and for this reason, the Court drew support from English experts. At the point when
there is sufficient proof to dismiss the exculpatory piece of the blamed individual's
announcements, the Court may depend on the inculpatory part.

Scope and Applicability of Provision

A confession is substantive proof against its maker, in the event that it has been appropriately
recorded and experiences no legitimate drawbacks, it would get the job done to convict the
accused who made the admission, however as an issue of reasonability, the Court typically
expects probably some support before following up on it. In any case, before following up on
a confession, the Court must be fulfilled that it is intentional and genuine. Intentionality relies
on whether there was any risk, instigation or guarantee. The fact of the matter is to be made a
decision with regards to the whole arraignment case for example regardless of whether it fits
into the demonstrated certainties and does not run counter to them. In the event that these two
conditions are fulfilled, it turns into the most dependable bit of proof against the creator.

Literature Review
The researcher has analysed a number of cases to find out the relevance of retracted
confession in India. The cases include Yap Sow Keong v. Public Prosecutor6, Mohan Wahi v.
State7, Subramania Goundan v. State of Madras8, Ram Prakash v. State of Punjab9, Pyare Lal
Bhargava v. State of Rajasthan10, State of Uttar Pradesh v. Boota Singh11 among others.

Further, the researcher read a journal article titled, “Protecting the Innocent from False
Confessions and Lost Confessions: And from Miranda” by Paul G. Cassell to learn about the
ingredients of a retracted confession and how can an accused be protected from it.

The researcher also read Adedeji Adenkunle’s article published in the Journal of African Law
titled, “Previous Inconsistent Statements of a Witness” to know about the relevance of a
retracted confession in various countries.

6
1947 MLJ 90.
7
1982 CrLJ 2040 Del.
8
AIR 1958 SC 66.
9
AIR 1959 SC 1.
10
AIR 1963 SC 1094.
11
AIR 1978 SC 1770.
Apart from all the above-mentioned resources, the researcher referred to the bare act of the
Law of Evidence prevailing in India and the various commentaries on it to understand the
provision better.

Research Questions
1. What are the ingredients of a retracted confession or when does a confession is said to
be retracted?
2. What is the relevance of retracted confession? Can it be used against the co-accused,
if it mentions them?
3. What is the relevance of a retracted confession across various jurisdictions?

Hypothesis
The hypothesis that the researcher will try to find an answer to is as follows:
“A retracted confession can be used against the co-accused or any other persons if it mentions
them.”

Areas To Be Included
The researcher would do a comparative study across various jurisdictions to see if the
retracted confession holds any evidentiary value in any country.

Research Methodology
This paper is doctrinal in nature, referring primarily to books, articles and case law. The
researcher has referred to primary sources like the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 to have an idea
about the sections. The researcher has also referred to secondary sources like books, articles,
online write-ups, journals and commentaries on laws. Apart from this, legal encyclopaedias
and dictionaries were also referred to, to know the meanings of various legal terms. The
references for this project have been acquired from the Justice T.P.S. Chawla Library and
online databases which contain law reviews and journalistic articles, namely: JSTOR, Lexis
India, Manupatra.
Tentative Chapterization
The first chapter would focus on the meaning of the term ‘retracted confession’ and would
expound situations when a confession is treated as retracted. The second chapter would focus
on the relevance of retracted confession while the third chapter would talk about the ability of
the retracted confession to convict other people. In the fourth chapter, before the conclusion,
the researcher would do a comparative study to find out the evidentiary value of retracted
confession across myriad jurisdictions.

Bibliography
Sudhi Ranjan Bagri, “What is the evidentiary value of retracted confessions in India?”,
IPLEADERS.IN, April 6, 2016 and it can be accessed at https://blog.ipleaders.in/evidentiary-
value-retracted-confessions-india/.

AIR 1939 PC 47.

1952 AIR 354.
1969 AIR 422.
1947 MLJ 90.
1982 CrLJ 2040 Del.
AIR 1958 SC 66.
AIR 1959 SC 1.
AIR 1963 SC 1094.
AIR 1978 SC 1770.