Extra-Judicial Confession Can't Be Strong Evidence If Not Supported by Other Evidence On Record : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 20) observed that when the case of the prosecution is entirely based on the extra-judicial confession being circumstantial in nature then the accused cannot be convicted for the offence unless the chain of circumstances is completed by the prosecution.Reversing the findings of the High Court, the Bench Comprising Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma observed that when the inference drawn by the prosecution based on the chain of circumstances is not explained by the prosecution, then the task of fixing criminal liability upon a person on the strength of an inference must be approached with abundant caution. “It may be noted that the entire case of the prosecution is based on circumstantial evidence. The principles concerning circumstantial evidence are fairly settled and are generally referred as the “Panchsheel” principles. Essentially, circumstantial evidence comes into picture when there is absence of direct evidence. For proving a case on the basis of circumstantial evidence, it must be established that the chain of circumstances is complete. It must also be established that the chain of circumstances is consistent with the only conclusion of guilt. The margin of error in a case based on circumstantial evidence is minimal. For, the chain of circumstantial evidence is essentially meant to enable the court in drawing an inference. The task of fixing criminal liability upon a person on the strength of an inference must be approached with abundant caution.”, the Judgment authored by Justice Satish Chandra Sharma observed. Background It was a case of the prosecution that the appellant-accused made a voluntary extra-judicial confession to PW 1 (father of the deceased child) that he murdered his 2.5-year-old child and threw the body of the deceased child in the well. Based on the extra-judicial confession, PW 1 took the appellant-accused to the police station, and after discovering the dead body floating in the well based on the accused confession, the Police registered the FIR against the accused under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The trial court has acquitted the accused based on the inconsistencies discovered in the depositions made by the prosecution witnesses. However, the High Court has reversed the findings of the Trial Court and convicted the appellant-accused. It is against the decision of the High Court that the appellant-accused preferred a criminal appeal before the Supreme Court. Submissions Made by the Parties It was submitted by the appellant-accused, that the High Court had wrongly re-appreciated the evidence by blindly relying on the extra-judicial confession made by the appellant and did not subject the extra-judicial confession to a stern test and went on to place undue reliance on the same. Per contra, it was submitted by the respondent state that the High Court has rightly re-appreciated the entire evidence as the extra-judicial confession led to the discovery of the object/dead body. Further, it submitted that the minor discrepancies must not be allowed to demolish the entire testimony of a witness. Supreme Court's Observation Agreeing to the submissions made by the accused, the Supreme Court observed that the High Court has erred in convicting the accused by re-appreciating the evidence and relying on the extra-judicial confession made by the accused to the PW 1 (an interested witness being a father of deceased child). The Supreme Court noted several discrepancies in the depositions made by PW 1 related to the arrest of the appellant-accused and found evidentiary aspects of such depositions as doubtful. “The confession was followed by two things – the arrest of the appellant and recovery of dead body of the deceased. The evidentiary aspects concerning these facts are equally doubtful. As per the testimony of PW-1, he had taken the appellant to the police station and he was arrested there. Contrarily, PW-16/I.O. deposed that after recording the complaint, he had arrested the appellant from his house. The mode and manner of arrest, especially the place of arrest, is doubtful. It also raises a question on the aspect of confession – whether the confession was recorded when the appellant himself visited the police station with PW-1 or when he was arrested from his house and was taken to the police station by PW-16. The confessions, one made after a voluntary visit to the police station and the other made after arrest from the house, stand on materially different footings from the point of view of voluntariness. The likelihood of the latter being voluntary is fairly lesser in comparison to the former.” Further, the Supreme Court also noted the inconsistencies in the statements made by PW 1 related to the recovery of the dead body, therefore the case of the prosecution is not free from doubts. “The description of the deceased given by PW-1 in his complaint Ex.P1 did not match with the description of the dead body....

Extra-Judicial Confession Can't Be Strong Evidence If Not Supported by Other Evidence On Record : Supreme Court

Yash Mittal

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