ADMISSIONS,CONFESSIONS,

STATEMENTS AND DYING DECLARATIONS

ADMISSIONS( SECTION 17-23 & 31)
Sec 17- Definition of admission
An admission is a statement
Oral or documentary or contained in electronic form
Suggests an inference as to any facts in issue or relevant fact
Statement must be made by any of the persons and circumstances
mentioned in sec 18-20
Admissions must be clear cut and accurate
Admissions only binds the persons making them
Exception:
 When party having a joint interest with other,
 Admission can also be used against the heir of the maker an
against the person who claims interest of the maker
Admission must be taken as a whole
Admission must be made on the basis of personal
knowledge and an admission made to a stranger is also
relevant
Admissions are the admitting anything as true and that
it must go against the maker
Admission must relate to the subject matter in issue.
Classification of admission
Admissio
n

Judicial Extra
or Judicial
Formal Or
informal

Sec 58
Facts admitted need not be proved
Persons who can make admissions
SEC
18 Person from
whom interest
derived

Party to
proceedings

Proprietary or
pecuniary interest

Agents
authorized by Suitors in
party representative
character
Party to the proceeding
Parties to the suit or proceedings
What is admitted by the party to be true must be presumed
to be true unless contrary is shown
Persons who are not on record but are interested in subject
matter are considered.
Statement made by party in former suit if amounts to
admission between same or different parties are admissible.
Tajmani v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1976 Raj 71
Court held that admissions cannot be used as substantive
evidence against a person for proving guilt but can be used
as support to other evidence
Admission by Agent of a Party
Qui per Alium Facit Scipsum Facere Videtur ( he who
by another does anything, is himself considered to
have done it)
Principal is bound by the acts of his agent
Done in course of business and within scope of his
authority.
Agent to any party includes;
 admissions by Counsels or solicitors – Shankar Lal v.
Motilal, AIR 1957 Raj 267
 Admission by partners
 Admission by ministers or officers or subordinates-
Johnson v. Lindsaey.1891 AC 371
Admission in a representative character
Party sues or sued in representative capacity
Eg) trustee, manager, administrator
Admission must have been made while person held
that character.
Nagaya Sami v. Kochadai, AIR 1969 Mad 329
Admissions by persons having any
Proprietary or Pecuniary interest
Joint owners of property, co- defendants, partners to
gift deed, mortgage deed, title deed etc.
At the time statement was made person must have
been interested in the property.
Illustration:- if a right of way over property is claimed
by the stranger, a statement by one of the owners
admitting such right of way would be relevant against
the other.
Persons from whom parties derive interest
Derivation of interest by one person from other arises in three
ways
1. By privity in law( eg; executor and testator, administrator and
a person dying intestate)
2. By privity in blood( eg: heirs, ancestors and coparcenaries)
3. By privity in estate( lessor and lessee, mortgagor and
mortgagee)
 Avtar singh v. Atma Singh, AIR 1982 J&K 141
Gift deed executed by the father contained certain
admissions, it did not bind the sons because they were
claiming not through him, but in their own right as
coparceners
Admission made by strangers or third
persons( Sec 19)
Admissions made by persons whose position or
liability is to be proved would be relevant as against
the parties to the suit or proceedings.
Party to the suit can even use the statement of even
third party
If the statement of third party contains an admission
against the interest of third person and could have been
used against the third person if he sued or was sued in
connection.
A B
Undertakes to collect rent for

B sues A for not collecting from C

A denies rent was

due from C

C’s statement that

he owed money to
B admissible
 Agrees to For supply of
A stand as surety B goods by C
for

C files suit against A for default

A denies money is
due from B

Statement by B that
he owes money to C
is admissible
Admission of persons expressly referred to
by party to suit( Sec 20)
When a party to a suit has expressly referred to a
certain person for information in reference to matter in
dispute
The matter must have been referred for information by
the party against whom admissions are made.
The reference must have been made of matter which is
in issue.
No reference can be made on matter involving
question of law
Question: whether a horse sold by A to B is sound
A says to B: “Go and ask C.C knows all about it”. C’s
statement is an admission
Sita Ram v. Piayri [ ILR 47 ALL.927]
R v Mallory( 1884) 13 QBD 33- Court held that ,
where the accused told the constable that his wife
would make out a list of properties and when
subsequently a list was made out, it would be an
evidence against the husband.
Sec 21 -Proof of admissions against persons
making them, and by or on their behalf.
Admissions are relevant and may be proved as against
the person;
1. who makes them, or
2. his representative in interest;
but they cannot be proved by or on behalf of the person
3. who makes them, or
4. by his representative in interest, except in the
following cases;
Exception 1) Maker of admission dead
When admission is of such nature that, if the person making it
were dead, it would be relevant as between third persons under
section 32.
Illustration;
 A the captain of a ship, is tried for casting her away., (Evidence
is given to show that the ship was taken out of her proper
course.)
 A produces a book kept by him in the ordinary course of his
business showing observations alleged to have been taken by
him from day to day, and indicating that the ship was not taken
out of her proper course.
 A may prove these statements, because they would be admissible
between third parties, if he were dead, under section 32,
clause(2).
Exception 2
An admission may be proved by or on behalf of the
person making it, when it consists of a statement as to
the existence of any state of mind or body provided;
1. When state of mind or body is relevant
2. Statement was made at or the time when such state
of mind or body existed.
3. Statement is accompanied by conduct rendering its
falsehood improbable.
illustration
A is accused of fraudulently having in his possession
counterfeit coin which he knew to be counterfeit
He offers to prove that he asked a skilful person to
examine the coin as he doubted whether it was
counterfeit or not, and that that person did examine it
and told him it was genuine.
A may prove these statements, though they are
admissions, because they are explanatory of conduct
influenced by facts in issue.
Exception 3
An admission may be proved by or on behalf of the
person making it, if it is relevant otherwise than as an
admission
Ram Bharose V. Diwan( 1938 oudh 26)
A statement by the diseased donor in his will that the
gift deed executed by him was fictitious was held to be
an admissible
Sec 22-When oral admissions as to
contents of documents are relevant
Oral admissions as to the contents of a document are
not relevant
unless and until the party proposing to prove them
shows that he is entitled to give secondary evidence of
the contents of such document
or unless the genuineness of a document produced is in
question.
Illustration
If the original promissory note is said to have been lost
or destroyed. Oral admission by the maker of the
content of the document can be proved
 A alleges that the promissory note was not signed by
him and it is forged can prove by oral admission made
by A as to the content of promissory note
22A. When oral admission as to contents of
electronic records are relevant. ––
 Oral admissions as to the contents of electronic
records are not relevant, unless the genuineness of the
electronic record produced is in question
Sec 23
Surjith V. Gurucharan( AIR 1973)