Law Lab
Law Lab
Precedent

Rule prohibiting the use of confessions extracted by physical force or threats of violence

30 January 2022

On 06.08.2020 an FIR was lodged with Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station, Narayanganj against 02 (two) named persons and 2/3 unnamed persons, alleging, inter alia, that on 04.07.2020 at about 07.45 PM, the accused persons abducted Disa Moni in front of her house and since then her whereabouts were unknown. The accused made inculpatory confessional statement under section 164 of the Code that the killed the victim after rape and threw the dead body into the river. Thereafter on 23.08.2020 the victim appeared in public alive and unhurt. This incident had been the talk of the country. This incident has shaken the conscience of the public. Few Advocates of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh brought the incident to the notice of the Supreme Court with the assistance of Law Lab. During the course of hearing, Law Lab conducted extensive research on the concept, development and the evidentiary value of confessional statement. We travelled from religions to continents to find out the origin and jurisprudence of making confession in connection with the commission of a crime. In this research, we found an important decision along with the other relevant decisions of the Supreme Court of United States. The case is Hopt Vs People of the Territory of Utah reported in 110 U.S. 574 (1884). In this case, the Supreme Court of United States, for the first time, strictly enforced rule prohibiting the use of confessions extracted by physical force or threats of violence. Since then, federal courts have barred to obtain coerced and involuntary confessions.