Criminal Procedure and Law of Evidence
What the exam tests
Criminal procedure and evidence questions test the journey from FIR to trial and the rules that determine what a court may rely on. The BNSS 2023 replaced the CrPC and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 replaced the Evidence Act; know both the new framework and the old section numbers still used in many questions.
Core rules
- FIR under section 154 CrPC (s.173 BNSS) sets investigation in motion; it is not substantive evidence, though it can corroborate or contradict under s.157/145.
- Default bail under s.167(2) is indefeasible if the charge-sheet is not filed within the prescribed period.
- Bail under s.437/439 is discretionary; the court considers flight risk, tampering, gravity and prima facie case.
- Confession to a police officer is inadmissible (s.25), except so much as leads to discovery of a fact under s.27.
- Dying declaration is admissible under s.32(1) if it relates to the cause of death; it need not be recorded by a magistrate, but voluntariness and fitness must be shown.
- Electronic records need the certificate requirement (s.65B Evidence Act; now s.63 BSA) for admissibility.
Worked example
In a murder trial the prosecution relies solely on a dying declaration recorded by a police officer. The defence says it is inadmissible because no magistrate recorded it. The objection fails: s.32(1) does not prescribe a magistrate. The court will test whether the declarant was conscious, whether the statement was voluntary, whether it is complete, and whether it is consistent with the medical evidence. If satisfied, conviction can rest on it alone; if doubtful, it cannot.
Traps
A confession to police is not proved merely because it is signed. Section 27 is a narrow discovery exception, not a general admissibility rule. Default bail is not the same as regular bail. Hostile witness does not mean the evidence is wiped out. Electronic evidence without certificate is a common trap.