Extra-judicial confessions are those confessions which are made either to the police or to any other person other than judges and magistrates as such. The Supreme Court has observed in State of Punjab v. Bhajen Singh (1975 4 S.C.C. 472) that an extra-judicial confession is a very weak piece of evidence.
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An extra-judicial confession, if voluntary, can be relied upon by the Court, along with other evidence, in convicting an accused. The confession will have to be proved just like any other fact. The value of evidence as to the confession, just like any other evidence, depends upon the veracity of the witness to whom it is made. (Mulk Raj. v. State of U.P. (A.I.R. 1959 S.C. 902) usually and as a matter of caution, Courts require some material corroboration to such a confessional statement, i.e., corroboration which connects the accused person with the crime in question. (Ratan Gond v. State of Bihar, A.I.R. 1959 S.C. 18)
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The Bombay High Court has observed that an extra-judicial confession is a weak piece of evidence, and the Court would normally expect sufficient and reliable corroboration of such type of evidence. (Sitaram Vishnu Chalke v. State of Maharashtra, 1993 Cri. L. J. 3364)
