Confession Made By Co-Accused Is Not A Substantive Evidence, Can Only Be Used To Lend Assurance To Other Evidence: Himachal Pradesh HC

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has reiterated that a confession made by a co-accused cannot be taken as a substantive piece of evidence against another coaccused and can only be utilized to lend assurance to the other evidence.

In that context, the Bench of Justice Rakesh Kainthla placed reliance on the case of Surinder Kumar Khanna Versus Intelligence Officer Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, and subsequently observed that, "no advantage can be derived by the prosecution from the confessional statement made by the coaccused implicating the petitioner. This is not a legally admissible piece of evidence and cannot be used against the petitioner."

Counsel Abhishek Kaushik appeared for the petitioner, while AAG Jitender Sharma appeared for the respondent. 

In this case, an FIR was registered against the petitioner for offenses under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, based on information about heroin-related activities.

During a police search, 7.34 grams of heroin were found in the room, leading to arrests. FSL results confirmed the substance as Diacetylmorphine. The petitioner, claiming innocence and false implication, argued insufficient evidence connecting him to the crime. The respondent asserted the severity of the offense and opposed bail, emphasizing the negative impact of heroin consumption on the younger generation.

The Court observed that, "there is insufficient material to connect the petitioner with the commission of crime. The police had recovered 7.34 grams of heroin which is slightly more than the small quantity. The petitioner asserted that he does not have any criminal antecedents. This was not stated to be incorrect. Therefore, the petitioner being a first offender deserves a chance to reform himself and any continued detention of the petitioner in custody will make the chance of reformation bleak as the petitioner will come in contact with the hardened criminal."

Resultantly, it was ordered that the petitioner be released on bail.

Cause Title: Narender Singh vs State of Himachal Pradesh

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