Section 181 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023
Section 181 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, titled "Statements to police and use thereof", governs the admissibility and use of statements made to police officers during an investigation.
📜 Text of Section 181
Section 181: Statements to police and use thereof
No statement made by any person to a police officer in the course of an investigation under this Chapter shall, if reduced to writing, be signed by the person making it. Such a statement or any record thereof, whether in a police diary or otherwise, or any part of such statement or record, shall not be used for any purpose at any inquiry or trial concerning the offence under investigation at the time the statement was made, except as provided hereinafter
Provided that when any witness is called for the prosecution in such inquiry or trial, whose statement has been reduced into writing as aforesaid, any part of his statement, if duly proved, may be used by the accused, and with the permission of the Court, by the prosecution, to contradict such witness in the manner provided by section 148 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. When any part of such statement is so used, any part thereof may also be used in the re-examination of such witness, but only for the purpose of explaining any matter referred to in his cross-examination.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to apply to any statement falling within the provisions of clause (a) of section 26 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023; or to affect the provisions of the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 23 of that Adhiniyam.
Explanation: An omission to state a fact or circumstance in the statement referred to in sub-section (1) may amount to contradiction if the same appears to be significant and otherwise relevant, having regard to the context in which such omission occurs. Whether any omission amounts to a contradiction in the particular context shall be a question of fact
⚖️ Comparison with the Indian Evidence Act
Section 181 of the BNSS aligns closely with Section 162 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which prohibits the use of statements made to police officers during an investigation as evidence in court, with certain exceptions. Both provisions aim to prevent the use of coerced or involuntary statements against the person making them.
🧭 Practical Implications
Witness Statements: If a witness's statement to the police is inconsistent with their testimony in court, that statement may be used to impeach the witness's credibility, subject to the court's permission.
Accused's Statements: Statements made by the accused to the police are generally inadmissible unless they fall within specific exceptions outlined in the law.
Omissions: Deliberate omissions in a statement may be used to challenge the credibility of the witness, depending on the significance and relevance of the omitted information.
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