Section 181 BNSS: Statements to police and use thereof (Formerly Section 162 CrPC)

Section 181 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Statements to police and use thereof

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(1) 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; nor shall any such statement or any record thereof, whether in a police diary or otherwise, or any part of such statement or record, be used for any purpose, save as hereinafter provided, at any inquiry or trial in respect of any offence under investigation at the time when such statement was made:

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; and when any part of such statement is so used, any part thereof may also be used in the re-examination of such witness, but for the purpose only of explaining any matter referred to in his cross-examination.

(2) 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 and whether any omission amounts to a contradiction in the particular context shall be a question of fact.

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Inquiry Sec 2(1)(g) Investigation Sec 2(1)(h)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 181

Section 181 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 prohibits the signing of statements made to the police and strictly regulates their limited use in criminal evidence.

Evidentiary Admissibility Standard: Section 181 enacts a vital evidentiary safeguard in Indian criminal jurisprudence: no statement made by any person to a police officer in the course of an investigation shall, if reduced to writing, be signed by the person making it.
Inquiry & Trial Mechanism: Nor shall any such statement or any record thereof, whether in a police diary or otherwise, be used for any purpose at any inquiry or trial in respect of any offence under investigation at the time when such statement was made.
Exceptions & Statutory Safeguards: As a statutory exception: when any witness is called for the prosecution, any part of their 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 145 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Tahsildar Singh v. State of U.P. (AIR 1959 SC 1012): The Constitution Bench settled the classic procedure for cross-examination on police statements: Section 162 CrPC (Sec 181 BNSS) completely excludes substantive use, permitting statements solely for contradicting the witness upon proving material omissions or contradictions.
Hazari Lal v. State (Delhi Admn.) (1980) 2 SCC 390: Held that obtaining signatures of witnesses on their police statements violates the express statutory prohibition and creates suspicion that the witness was coerced into sticking to a pre-drafted narrative.

Legal Commentary:

Section 181 protects witnesses from police coercion and prevents fabricated police narratives from entering the trial record as substantive truth. If the police obtain the signature of a witness on a Section 180 statement, defense counsel should immediately highlight the statutory breach to discredit the witness's independence.