Section 22 – Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) – Confession Caused By Inducement, Threat, Coercion Or Promise, When Irrelevant In Criminal Proceeding.

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Section 22 - Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) - Confession Caused By Inducement, Threat, Coercion Or Promise, When Irrelevant In Criminal Proceeding

Code

A confession made by an accused person is irrelevant in a criminal proceeding if it appears to the Court that the confession was caused by:

Any inducement, threat, coercion, or promise,
Relating to the charge against the accused,
Made by a person in authority,
And sufficient, in the Court’s opinion, to give the accused reasonable grounds to suppose that by confessing, they might gain some advantage or avoid any evil of a temporal nature in connection with the case.

Provisos:

Contents

Code Explanation Illustration Key Concepts

If the influence of the inducement/threat/coercion is fully removed, the confession may become relevant.
A confession does not become irrelevant merely because:
- It was made under a promise of secrecy,
- It was obtained by deception,
- The accused was drunk,
- It was made in response to questions the accused wasn’t obligated to answer,
- The accused wasn’t warned about the right to remain silent.

Explanation

Section 22 sets safeguards to ensure that confessions used in criminal trials are voluntary and trustworthy.

⚖️ The section protects accused individuals from:

Forced confessions,
Confessions made under undue pressure,
Confessions made out of fear or hope of benefit.

However, courts retain discretion. If a confession is made voluntarily and is not the result of pressure—even if obtained through trickery or secrecy—it may still be admissible.

Illustration

A is accused of theft. A confesses after a police officer tells him, “If you confess, you’ll be released quickly.”
This confession is not relevant—it’s based on inducement from a person in authority.

A confesses to his cellmate thinking their talk is private.
This confession may still be admissible, as it wasn’t made under threat or inducement, even if the cellmate was a planted informant.

Key Concepts

Confession must be voluntary to be admissible.
Threats, inducements, or promises by authority figures invalidate confessions.
Trickery or lack of caution does not necessarily render a confession inadmissible.
“Temporal advantage” means worldly, legal, or practical benefits or harms (like lighter sentence, early release, etc.).