Appreciation of Evidence in Sessions Cases - Justice D.Murugesan

(5). EXTRA – JUDICIAL CONFESSION
Confession may be judicial and extra judicial. If confession recorded by Magistrate it is judicial and if
made to any other person it is said to be extra judicial Confession.
(a). Corroboration:-
Confession – Extra judicial – Corroboration – Necessity of – Conviction on the basis of
confession without insisting on corroboration – Permissibility. – Maghar Singh vs. State of Punjab – AIR
1975 SC 1320. The Hon'ble Court in this decision has held as follows :
"5. .... The evidence furnished by the extra-judicial confession made by the accused to
witnesses cannot be termed to be a tainted evidence and if corroboration is required it is
only by way of abundant caution. If the Court believes the witnesses before whom the
confession is made and it is satisfied that the confession was voluntary, then in such a case
convicted can be founded on such evidence alone as was done in Rao Shiv Bahadur
Singh V. State of U.P. (AIR 1954 SC 322) where their Lordships of the Supreme Court
rested the conviction of the accused on the extra-judicial confession made by him before
tow independent witnesses, namely Gadkari and Perulakar. ...."
(b). Weak piece of evidence:-
Extra judicial Confession – It is a weak piece of evidence – Reliance cannot be placed unless it is
plausible and inspires confidence – State of Punjab vs. Bhajan Singh – AIR 1975 SC 258.
Extra judicial confession – It may or may not be a weak evidence – Each case should be examined
on its own facts and circumstances – Siva Kumar vs. State – 2006 (1) SCC 714.
(c). Probative value:-
Extra judicial confession – Probative value – Such confession cannot be presumed in law to be a
weak type of evidence – It depends of the facts and circumstances of each case – Narayan Singh and
others vs. State of M.P. – AIR 1985 SC 1678.
that,
In Gura Singh v. State of Rajasthan (2001 (2) SCC 205), it was held by the Hon’ble Apex Court
“Extra Judicial Confession, if true and voluntary, it can be relied upon by the court to convict
the accused for the commission of the crime alleged. Despite inherent weakness of extra-judicial
confession as an item of evidence, it cannot be ignored when shown that such confession was
made before a person who has no reason to state falsely and to whom it is made in the
circumstances which tend to support the statement. That the evidence in the form extra-judicial
confession made by the accused to witnesses cannot be always termed to be a tainted evidence.
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