Recording a Statement or Confession Before a Magistrate Under the BNSS (Section 183) (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Procedure · BNSS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A statement made to the police carries limited weight in court, but a statement or confession recorded by a Magistrate is treated very differently. Getting that recording right, and knowing the safeguards, can decide the strength of a prosecution or the fate of a defence. Under the new criminal law, the recording of confessions and statements before a Magistrate is governed by Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which replaced Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). This explainer sets out what Section 183 covers, the safeguards, and what has changed. Last verified October 2026.

01Why a Magistrate’s recording matters

A confession or statement recorded by a Magistrate is a judicial record, so it carries far more weight than a statement made to the police. That is why the law surrounds it with safeguards.

Two things make this stage important:

• Reliability. A Magistrate records the statement away from the police, which guards against pressure and gives the court a trustworthy account.
• Use at trial. A properly recorded statement can be used in evidence in the ways the law allows, and a flawed recording can be challenged.

Section 183 of the BNSS carries forward the old Section 164 and modernises it, mainly by allowing audio-video recording and adding care for vulnerable victims.

02What Section 183 of the BNSS covers

Section 183 of the BNSS lets a Magistrate record any confession or statement made to the person in the course of an investigation, or at any time before the start of the trial.

In broad terms, the section provides that:

• a Magistrate may record a confession or statement, whether or not the Magistrate has jurisdiction in the case;
• a confession is recorded only after the Magistrate explains that the person is not bound to confess and that it may be used against them;
• a statement by a witness is recorded on oath, in the manner the section sets out;
• the recording may be done by audio-video electronic means.

A confession made to a Magistrate under this section stands apart from a confession to the police, which the law treats as inadmissible. For the police-confession bar, see confession to police under BSA Section 23.

03Voluntariness and the confession safeguard

The heart of Section 183 is that a confession must be voluntary, and the Magistrate must be satisfied it is, before recording it.

Before recording a confession, the Magistrate must warn the person that they are not obliged to make it, and that if they do, it may be used in evidence against them. The Magistrate must question the person to be sure the confession is being made freely, and not under any pressure from the police. If the Magistrate is not satisfied that it is voluntary, the confession is not recorded, and the person is not sent back to police custody in that situation.

A confession before a Magistrate is only as good as its voluntariness. The warning and the questioning are what make it stand up in court.

04Audio-video and care for vulnerable victims

Section 183 modernises the old provision by allowing audio-video recording and by requiring special care for certain victims.

Statements and confessions may be recorded by audio-video electronic means, which creates a clearer record of what was said and how. For offences against women, and in cases involving children or persons who are temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled, the section requires the statement to be recorded with care, such as by a woman Magistrate where possible, or with the help of an interpreter or special educator, and by audio-video means.

05Section 164 CrPC to Section 183 BNSS: what changed

Section 183 of the BNSS is the successor to Section 164 of the CrPC, so the core function, a Magistrate recording confessions and statements, is unchanged.

The comparison in short:

Section 183 is procedure. It does not create an offence and carries no punishment of its own. Whether a case is cognizable or bailable depends on the offence being investigated, not on Section 183.

06Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Challenges to a Section 183 recording turn on how courts have read the voluntariness and procedure safeguards, so quick access to rulings matters. Claw helps here. It lets you search 30 crore+ judgments and track cases, orders and hearings by section, party or advocate across 9,102 courts and forums, with results in under 5 seconds, so you can find how benches have treated confessions and statements under Section 183 and the old Section 164, and follow a live matter. Case search across Indian courts describes the coverage.

Create a FREE Claw account to search and track cases under this section by party or advocate name. Claw does not record statements and does not replace legal advice. It does not use customer case documents to train AI models. There is a free plan for individual advocates, with paid plans for teams and enterprises.

07Sources and further reading

• India Code (text of the BNSS): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• LiveLaw (recording of confessions and statements): livelaw.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The admissibility of a statement turns on the facts and on current rulings, so check the text of Section 183 of the BNSS and take advice from counsel.

08Frequently asked questions