Confession made to police during investigation by one accused will not bind the other accused in any manner, holds the High Court of Kerala

Justice P. Ubaid of the High Court of Kerala, in a case¹ where the police arraigned a person (petitioner) as the second accused, simply on the basis of a confession made by the first accused to the police during investigation, has held that the confession made by a co-accused is admissible, provided, it was made to somebody other than police but confession made to police during investigation by one accused will not bind the other accused, in any manner. 

The Court passed the judgment in a petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, by the second accused in C.C.No.1547/2010 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate-I, Aluva. Crime in the said case was registered by the police under Sections 465, 468 and 471 IPC, after a delay of 5 years on the basis of a communication received   from    the Additional     Director   General of Police (Intelligence) dated 14.04.2005.

The prosecution case was that the 1^st accused, Jomy Varghese, created a false National Trade Certificate with the help and assistance of the other accused, for the purpose of going abroad for employment. The copy of the communication received by the police from the Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) showed  that the alleged document was created by one Aravind, a resident of Aluva. The petitioner contended that he is not the said person mentioned in the communication.  The petitioner claimed that he was now being prosecuted on the allegation that the alleged National Trade Certificate was forged at "Aravind Travels", at Aluva, and that the said concern belongs to the petitioner herein.

The petitioner stated in his petition that the complaint is definite that the certificate was created by one Aravind, and not at Aravind Travels. The police however alleged that it was created at the said concern by name Aravind Travels, that this concern belongs to the petitioner herein, and that is why the police arraigned him as the 2^nd accused, as the person who forged the alleged document.

The 2^nd accused filed the petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking quashing of the prosecution as against him on the ground that there is absolutely no material as against him at the hands of the prosecution.

The Court directed the learned Public Prosecutor to submit a report, on instructions, from the concerned Station House Officer, regarding the materials collected by the police to connect the petitioner with the said Aravind Travels. The Sub Inspector of Police, Aluva, accordingly, submitted a report on 29.10.2014. The Court observed that the said report does not reveal the connection between the petitioner and Aravind Travels, Aluva. “The report also does not answer the question put by the court; what materials are there to connect the petitioner with the alleged crime or with Aravind Travels, Aluva”, the Court added. 

The Court said that the Sub-Inspector of Police had failed to answer the definite case of the petitioner that he has no connection whatever with Aravind Travels, and that the said concern belongs to somebody else. The Court also observed that the learned Public Prosecutor submitted that on a perusal of the case diary, nothing definite could be found to connect the petitioner with the said Aravind Travels at Aluva. The Court further observed that the police arraigned the petitioner simply on the basis of a confession made by the first accused to the police during investigation.

It was in this backdrop that the High Court of Kerala held as follows:

“..the confession made by a co-accused is admissible, provided, it was made to somebody other than police. Confession made to police during investigation by one accused will not bind the other accused, in any manner.”

“This confession apart, there is absolutely no material at the hands of the police to arraign this petitioner, or to prosecute him, or to connect him with Aravind Travels, Aluva”, held Justice P. Ubaid who accordingly allowed the petition filed by the petitioner, and quashed the prosecution as against the petitioner herein as the  2^nd accused in C.C.No.1547/2010 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Aluva.

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1.Muhammed Kunhumarakkar v. State of Kerala

[ Crl.M.C.No. 4815 of 2014, decided on 20.12.2014 ]