Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 183 BNSS - Recording of Confessions and Statements

Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 lays down the procedure by which a Magistrate may record confessions and statements during investigation or before commencement of inquiry or trial. It contains safeguards for voluntariness, permits audio-video electronic recording in specified circumstances, prescribes a statutory memorandum for confessions, and creates special procedures for statements in serious offences and for persons with mental or physical disabilities.

Updated: 11 September 2026

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Meaning and scope of Section 183 BNSS

Section 183 regulates judicial recording of confessions and statements connected with a criminal investigation. It authorises a Magistrate of the district where information about the commission of the offence has been registered to record a confession or statement even if that Magistrate does not otherwise have jurisdiction over the case.

The provision applies during investigation under the BNSS or any other law for the time being in force, and may also operate after investigation but before commencement of the inquiry or trial. The section is designed to ensure that confessions are voluntary and that important victim or witness statements are recorded with appropriate procedural safeguards.

Text of Section 183 BNSS

183. Recording of confessions and statements.

(1) Any Magistrate of the District in which the information about commission of any offence has been registered, may, whether or not he has jurisdiction in the case, record any confession or statement made to him in the course of an investigation under this Chapter or under any other law for the time being in force, or at any time afterwards but before the commencement of the inquiry or trial:

Provided that any confession or statement made under this sub-section may also be recorded by audio-video electronic means in the presence of the advocate of the person accused of an offence:

Provided further that no confession shall be recorded by a police officer on whom any power of a Magistrate has been conferred under any law for the time being in force.

(2) The Magistrate shall, before recording any such confession, explain to the person making it that he is not bound to make a confession and that, if he does so, it may be used as evidence against him; and the Magistrate shall not record any such confession unless, upon questioning the person making it, he has reason to believe that it is being made voluntarily.

(3) If at any time before the confession is recorded, the person appearing before the Magistrate states that he is not willing to make the confession, the Magistrate shall not authorise the detention of such person in police custody.

(4) Any such confession shall be recorded in the manner provided in section 316 for recording the examination of an accused person and shall be signed by the person making the confession; and the Magistrate shall make a memorandum at the foot of such record to the following effect:-

"I have explained to (name) that he is not bound to make a confession and that, if he does so, any confession he may make may be used as evidence against him and I believe that this confession was voluntarily made. It was taken in my presence and hearing, and was read over to the person making it and admitted by him to be correct, and it contains a full and true account of the statement made by him.

(Signed) A. B.
Magistrate.".

(5) Any statement (other than a confession) made under sub-section (1) shall be recorded in such manner hereinafter provided for the recording of evidence as is, in the opinion of the Magistrate, best fitted to the circumstances of the case; and the Magistrate shall have power to administer oath to the person whose statement is so recorded.

(6)(a) In cases punishable under section 64, section 65, section 66, section 67, section 68, section 69, section 70, section 71, section 74, section 75, section 76, section 77, section 78, section 79 or section 124 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Magistrate shall record the statement of the person against whom such offence has been committed in the manner specified in sub-section (5), as soon as the commission of the offence is brought to the notice of the police:

Provided that such statement shall, as far as practicable, be recorded by a woman Magistrate and in her absence by a male Magistrate in the presence of a woman:

Provided further that in cases relating to the offences punishable with imprisonment for ten years or more or with imprisonment for life or with death, the Magistrate shall record the statement of the witness brought before him by the police officer:

Provided also that if the person making the statement is temporarily or permanently, mentally or physically disabled, the Magistrate shall take the assistance of an interpreter or a special educator in recording the statement:

Provided also that if the person making the statement is temporarily or permanently, mentally or physically disabled, the statement made by the person, with the assistance of an interpreter or a special educator, shall be recorded through audio-video electronic means preferably by mobile phone;

(6)(b) A statement recorded under clause (a) of a person, who is temporarily or permanently, mentally or physically disabled, shall be considered a statement in lieu of examination-in-chief, as specified in section 142 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 such that the maker of the statement can be cross-examined on such statement, without the need for recording the same at the time of trial.

(7) The Magistrate recording a confession or statement under this section shall forward it to the Magistrate by whom the case is to be inquired into or tried.

Who may record a confession or statement under Section 183?

A Magistrate of the district in which information about the commission of the offence has been registered may record the confession or statement, whether or not that Magistrate has jurisdiction to try or inquire into the case. This broadens access to judicial recording while maintaining the safeguard that the recording function remains with a Magistrate.

Important safeguard: Even where a police officer has been given some powers of a Magistrate under another law, the second proviso to Section 183(1) expressly prohibits such police officer from recording a confession under this section.

Voluntariness safeguards before recording a confession

Before recording a confession, the Magistrate must explain that the person is not bound to confess and that any confession made may be used as evidence against him. The Magistrate must then question the person and form a reasoned belief that the confession is voluntary before recording it.

If the person states before recording that he is unwilling to confess, Section 183(3) directs that the Magistrate shall not authorise detention of that person in police custody. This reinforces the statutory requirement that the confession must result from free choice rather than pressure.

Audio-video electronic recording

The first proviso to Section 183(1) permits a confession or statement under the provision to be recorded by audio-video electronic means in the presence of the advocate of the accused person. This is a significant procedural feature of the BNSS framework and can provide a contemporaneous electronic record of the process.

Section 183(6) separately requires audio-video electronic recording, preferably by mobile phone, where a statement is made by a person who is temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled and an interpreter or special educator is assisting the recording process.

Statutory memorandum by the Magistrate

Section 183(4) requires a confession to be recorded in the manner provided by Section 316 BNSS for examination of an accused. The person making the confession must sign it, and the Magistrate must append the statutory memorandum confirming that the person was informed of the right not to confess, that the Magistrate believed the confession to have been voluntarily made, and that the recorded confession was read over and admitted to be correct.

Special recording of victim and witness statements

Section 183(6)(a) mandates prompt recording by a Magistrate of the statement of the person against whom specified offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 have been committed. The listed provisions include Sections 64 to 71, Sections 74 to 79 and Section 124 BNS.

As far as practicable, the statement should be recorded by a woman Magistrate. If a woman Magistrate is unavailable, a male Magistrate may record it in the presence of a woman. In cases involving offences punishable with imprisonment for ten years or more, imprisonment for life or death, the Magistrate must record the statement of the witness brought before him by the police officer.

Safeguards for persons with mental or physical disabilities

Where the person making the statement is temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled, the Magistrate must obtain assistance from an interpreter or special educator. The resulting statement must also be recorded through audio-video electronic means, preferably by mobile phone.

These safeguards are intended to facilitate accurate communication and reduce the need for repeated recording of the same testimony.

Effect of Section 142 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Section 183(6)(b) provides that a statement recorded from a temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled person under clause (a) is treated as a statement in lieu of examination-in-chief as specified in Section 142 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.

Section 142 BSA defines examination-in-chief, cross-examination and re-examination. The effect of Section 183(6)(b) is that the maker can be cross-examined on the recorded statement without recording the examination-in-chief afresh at trial.

Official legal resources

The BNSS came into force on 1 July 2024, subject to the exception stated in the Central Government notification concerning the First Schedule entry relating to Section 106(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.