Section 32 in Criminal Rules of Practice and Circular Orders, 1990
32. Confessions:
(1)No confession shall be recorded unless:(a)the Magistrate has explained to the accused that he is under no obligation at all to answer any question and that he is free to speak or refrain from speaking as he pleases; and(b)the Magistrate has warned the accused person that it is not intended to make him an approver and that anything said by him will be taken down and thereafter be used against him.(2)Before recording a statement, the Magistrate shall question the accused in order to ascertain the exact circumstances in which his confession is made and the extent to which the Police have had relations with the accused before the confession is made.The Magistrate may usefully put the following questions to the accused :-(a)When did the police first question you?(b)How often were you questioned by the Police?(c)Were you detained anywhere by the Police before you were taken Formally into custody, and if so, in what circumstances?(d)Were you urged by the Police to make a confession?(e)Have the Statements you are going to make been induced by any ill-treatment? And if so, by whom?(f)Do you understand that the statement which you are about to make may be used against you at your trial?These questions and any others which may suggest themselves and the answers to them shall be recorded by the Magistrate before he records the accused's statement and shall be appended to the Memorandum prescribed by Section 164(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Magistrate shall add to the Memorandum a statement in his own hand of the grounds on which he believes that the confession is voluntary and shall note the precautions which he took to remove the accused from the influence of the police and the time given to the accused for reflection.(3)If the Magistrate has any doubt whether the accused is going to speak voluntarily, he may, if he thinks fit, remand him to a sub-jail, before recording the statement; and ordinarily the accused shall be withdrawn from the custody of the Police for 24 hours before his statement is recorded. When it is not possible or expedient to allow so long a time as 24 hours, the Magistrate shall allow the accused atleast a few hours for reflection.(4)The statement of the accused shall not be recorded, nor shall the warning prescribed in paragraph (1) of this Rule be given nor shall the question prescribed in paragraph (2) of this Rule be asked in the presence of a co-accused or of the police officers who have arrested him or produced him before the Magistrate or who have investigated the case.
