Principles of S.27 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and Disclosure Statements in Criminal Cases

Principles of S.27 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and Disclosure Statements in Police Custody in Criminal Cases

In case of Nagamma @ Nagarathna v. State of Karnataka [2025] GCtR 1542 (SC), it was held that "disclosure statements taken from one or more persons in police custody do not go out of the purview of Section 27 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 altogether". 

While asserting that a joint or simultaneous disclosure would per se be not inadmissible under S.27, it was observed that it is very difficult to place reliance on such an utterance in chorus; which was also held to be, in fact, a myth. Recognising that there would be practical difficulty in placing reliance on such evidence, it was declared that it is for the Courts to decide, on a proper evaluation of evidence, whether and to what extent such a simultaneous disclosure could be relied upon.

The expression ‘fact discovered’ includes not only the physical object produced, but also the place from which it is produced and the knowledge of the accused about the concealment.