Premium Judicial Note: Section 30 of the Evidence Act,1872

Theme: The Doctrine of Vicarious Liability in Confessions

Section 30 creates a significant exception to the general rule that a confession is only evidence against its maker. It allows the court to "take into consideration" the confession of one accused against a co-accused under specific, stringent conditions.

1. Essential Ingredients for Application (The Quadruple Test)

For a confession to be used against a co-accused, the following four conditions must be met concurrently:

·       Joint Trial: The persons must be tried jointly for the same offence.

·       Same Offence: "Same offence" includes the abetment of, or attempt to commit, that offence (Explanation).

·       Self-Exculpation Barred: The confession must affect the maker as well as the others. If the maker minimizes their own role and shifts the entire blame to the others, it is not a "confession" under this section.

·       Proved Confession: The confession must be legally proved before the court.

2. Evidentiary Value: "Take into Consideration"

·       Weak Evidence: A confession by a co-accused is not "substantive evidence" in the strict sense.

·       Corroborative Role: It cannot form the sole basis of a conviction. It can only be used to lend assurance to other substantive evidence already on record.

·       The "Limping" Evidence: If the other evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction, Section 30 cannot be used to bridge that gap.

3. Strategic Analysis of Illustrations

Illustration	Status	Reason for Court's Decision
(a) A & B Jointly Tried	Admissible	The trial is joint and the statement "B and I" affects both.
(b) A Tried Alone	Inadmissible	B is not being jointly tried with A; therefore, B’s statement lacks the "guarantee of truth" found in self-implication during a joint trial.

4. BJS Exam "Pro-Tips" for the Bench

·       Non-Judicial Confessions: Section 30 applies to both judicial and extra-judicial confessions, provided they are proved.

·       The Power of "May": Highlight the court's discretion. The court is never bound to consider the confession against the co-accused.

·       Constitutional Safeguard: Always link this to the right against self-incrimination.