Section 23: Confession to police officer

Earlier law: Evidence Act section 25, section 27

In plain words

A confession made to a police officer cannot be proved against an accused. A confession made while in police custody cannot be proved against the person unless made in the immediate presence of a Magistrate.

But if a fact is discovered because of information given by an accused in police custody, the part of the information that relates distinctly to the discovered fact can be proved, whether or not it is a confession.

Example: An accused in custody tells the police where he hid a knife, and the knife is found there. That part of his statement can be proved.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Read the in-depth explanation, with key Supreme Court rulings ↓

Official text

(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.

Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 25 August 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Understanding this section

Section 23 combines sections 25, 26 and 27 of the Indian Evidence Act. Sub-section (1): no confession to a police officer can be proved against the accused. Sub-section (2): no confession while in police custody can be proved unless made in the immediate presence of a Magistrate. The proviso carries forward the old section 27: information leading to the discovery of a fact can be proved to that limited extent.

Why confessions to police are barred

The risk of coercion is too high and too hard to prove, so the law refuses such confessions altogether, however voluntary they seem.

Confession versus admission

A confession admits the offence or substantially all its facts. A statement admitting only an incriminating fact is an admission, not a confession, though statements to police during investigation remain limited by the BNSS.

The discovery proviso

When an accused in police custody gives information that leads to the discovery of a fact, only the part that distinctly relates to the discovery can be proved. The fact discovered includes the place and the accused's knowledge of it. Words confessing the crime that accompany the information remain barred.

Key Supreme Court rulings

Pulukuri Kottaya v. Emperor AIR 1947 PC 67

Decided under section 27 of the Evidence Act, now this proviso. In a statement about a knife hidden in the roof, the words with which I stabbed A are inadmissible; only the part leading to discovery can be proved.
Pakala Narayana Swami v. Emperor (1939) PC 47

A confession admits the offence or substantially all the facts constituting it; an admission of an incriminating fact is not of itself a confession.

Common mistakes

Looking for the discovery rule in a separate section. It is now the proviso to section 23(2).
Admitting the confessional part of a disclosure statement.

Read with: Section 22 BSA, Section 25 Evidence Act, Section 27 Evidence Act

Prepared with AI assistance as a study aid. Every ruling listed was checked against the Supreme Court's own judgments on this site, and quoted words appear in those judgments; linked names open the full judgment. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them. Not legal advice.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 23

No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.