According to Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Hearsay rule states that what is clearly expressed about the fact under discussion, is irrelevant. Admission and Confession are two exceptions to this rule that are commonly juxtaposed. In general sense, admission means admitting of any fact as true. It suggests conclusion on the liability of the person who makes the statement.
On the other extreme, confession implies a statement, which outrightly admits the suit. A confession is made by the person under indictment, which proves a criminal offence, committed by him or her.
While a confession is a conclusive proof, admission is not considered as a confession. The article excerpt sheds light on the difference between confession and admission, take a read.
Content: Confession Vs Admission
|Basis for Comparison||Confession||Admission|
|Meaning||Confession refers to a formal statement by which the accused admits his guilt of a crime.||An admission refers to the acknowledgement of a fact under discussion or a material fact in a lawsuit.|
|Proceeding||Criminal only||Civil or Criminal|
|Relevance||It must be voluntary to be relevant.||It need not be voluntary to be relevant.|
|Made by||Accused||Any person|
|Use||It always go against the person making it.||It can be used on behalf of the person making it.|
Definition of Confession
Confession is used to mean a form of admission, made by the accused, declaring the inference that he/she committed the offence. It is regarded as the best evidence against its maker and also against the co-accused, i.e. the person who is also involved with the accused in the commission of a crime.
So, it must either admit the crime or significantly all the facts that amount to the crime. Confession can be classified into two categories:
- Judicial Confession: When a confession made before the court or recorded by the magistrate, it is said to be a judicial confession.
- Extra-Judicial Confession: When a confession is made before the police or any other individual excluding the Judges and Magistrates.
Definition of Admission
The term admission can be defined as the voluntary statement that acknowledges the truth of a fact. It can be oral, documentary or in electronic form which proposes inferences about any fact in question or a material fact. Documentary evidence is one that is available in the form of letters, receipts, maps and bills, etc.
An admission is made by any person who can be a party to the lawsuit, predecessor-in-interest of a party, agent or any person having certain interest in the subject matter.
An admission is considered as the supreme evidence against the party who makes it, except if it is not true and made under those conditions that do not bind him/her. So, it must be clear, certain and precise.
Key Differences Between Confession and Admission
The fundamental differences between confession and admission, are explained here in a detailed manner:
- By the term confession, we mean a legal statement made by the accused in which he/she concedes the guilt of the offence. In contrast, admission means acceptance of truth or fact in issue or a material fact in a civil or criminal proceeding.
- The confession is made in criminal proceedings only. On the other extreme, admission is related to both civil and criminal proceedings.
- The confession must be made voluntarily, in order to become relevant. Conversely, the admission does not require voluntary expression so as to become material. However, it effects its weight.
- The confession made can be retracted easily, but once the admission is made, it cannot be retracted.
- The confession is made by the person under indictment, i.e. accused. Unlike admission, wherein the admission is made by any person, who can be the agent or even a stranger.
- Confession always goes against the person making it. On the contrary, admission is used on behalf of the person making it.
To sum up, it can be said that the admission has a wider scope than confession, as the latter comes under the ambit of the former. Hence, Every confession is an admission, but the reverse is not true.
The main difference between these two is that in case of confession, the conviction is based on the statement itself, however, in the case of admission, additional evidence is required, to support the conviction.