Admission

The term 'admission' simply means any statement or assertation made by any party to a judicial
proceeding and offered against that party. According to Stephen 'admission as a statement oral or
written, suggesting any inference as to any fact in issue or relevant or deemed to be relevant to
any such fact, made by or on behalf of any party to any proceeding'.
In this Act, admission are contains in Sections 17 to Sections 31. According to Section 17 of the
Evidence Act 1872, an admission is a statement, oral or documentary or contained in digital
record, which suggests any inference as to any fact in issue or relevant fact, and which is made
by any of the persons, and under the circumstances, which are mentioned in the Act.

The definition of admission is divided into three parts:

i. It may be oral or documentary.
ii. Admission will be relevant only if it is made by any person specified in the Act. (this list is to
be found in Section18)
iii. Admission is relevant only in the circumstances mentioned in the Act. (Such circumstances
are mentioned in Section 18-30).
Admission plays a very important part in judicial proceedings. If on.e party to a suit or any other
proceedings proves that the other party has admitted his/her claim, the work of the court becomes
easier.
In Bishwanath Prasad v. Dwarka Prasad 1974 AIR 117, 1974 SCR (2) 124, the court said
“Admissibility is substantive evidence of the fact which is admitted when any previous statement
made by the party used to contradict a witness does not become substantive evidence. The
Admissibility of evidence serves the purpose of throwing doubt on the veracity of the witness.”

In this Act, admission are contains in Sections 17 to Sections 31.

Who’s Statement may be Treated as Admission:
Under Sections 18, 19 and 20 of the Act, statements made by the following persons are
admissions-
(a) party to the proceedings (S 18).
(b) agent authorised by a party to the proceedings (S 18).
(c) party suing or sued in a representative character (S 18).
(d) person who has any proprietary or pecuniary interest (S 18).
(e) person from whom the parties to the suit have derived their interest (S 18).
(f) persons whose position or liability is necessary to prove against a party to the suit (S 19).
(g) persons expressly referred to by party to the suit (S 20).

Statements made by the parties to the proceedings:

According to Section 18 of the Evidence Act, ‘Statements made by a party to the proceeding are
admissions.’ What is admitted by a party to be true must be presumed to be true unless the
contrary is shown, but before this proposition can be invoked, it must be shown that there is clear
and unambiguous statement by the party such as will be conclusive unless explained.
The word 'proceeding' in Sections 18 refers to the party proceedings in which the matter stated
by the party is in issue. A statement made by a party in a former suit between the same or
different parties is admissible. The proceeding may be civil or criminal Therefore, the phrase
'party to the proceeding' in Section 18 includes not merely the plaintiffs and defendants in a civil
suit, but also the accused in a criminal case.
In cases where private complaints lead to cognizance, the complainant assumes the role of the
party. Conversely, when cognizance arises from a police report, the aggrieved person becomes a
witness, with their prior inconsistent statements admissible as admissions but specifically as self-
contradictions under Section 145 of the Act.
Statements made by Agents
According to Section 18 of the Evidence Act, ‘Statements made by an agent to a party to the
proceeding, whom the court regards as expressly or impliedly authorized by the party to make
the statements, are admissions.’
Admissions under Section 18 are permissible as the principal is held accountable for the actions
of their agent conducted within the business framework and within the authorized scope. Yet, for
an agent's statements to be considered as admissions, the establishment of the agency's existence
is a prerequisite.
In criminal cases, an agent's admission holds no evidentiary weight except in instances governed
by Section 30 of the Act. Under this provision, the confession of an agent becomes admissible
against the principal only when both are undergoing joint trial for the same offense.

Statements made by Party suing or sued in a Representative Character

According to the Section 18 of this Act, ‘Statements made by parties to suits, suing or sued in a
representative character are admissions, if the statements are made while they held that
character.’
When a party sues or is sued in a representative capacity, eg, as a trustee, executor or
administrator or the like, his/her representative capacity is distinct from his/her ordinary
capacity, and only admissions made in the former capacity are receivable whereas statements
made before he/she acquired the representative character are inadmissible.

Statements by Persons who have any Proprietary or Pecuniary Interest

According to Section 18 of this Act, ‘Statements made by persons who have any proprietary or
pecuniary interest in the subject- matter of the proceeding, and who make the statements in their
character of persons so interested are admissions, if they are made during the continuance of the
interest.’
When several persons are jointly interested in the subject-matter of a suit, an admission of any
one of these persons is receivable not only against him/herself but also against the other
defendants, whether they be all jointly suing or sued, provided that the admission relates to the
subject-matter in dispute and be made by the declarant in his/her character of a person jointly
interested with the party against whom the evidence is tendered.
Statements by Persons from whom the Parties to the Suit have Derived their Interest
According to Section 18 of the Act, ‘Statements made by persons from whom the parties to the
suit have derived their interest in the subject-matter of the suit, are admissions, if they are made
during the continuance of the interest of the persons making the statements.’

Statements by Persons whose Position or Liability is Necessary to Prove against a Party

According to Section 19 of the Evidence Act, Statements made by persons whose position or
liability it is necessary to prove as against any party to the suit are admissions, if such
statements-
(a) are such as would be relevant as against such persons in relation to such position or liability
in a suit brought by or against them, and
b) are made whilst the person making them ( occupies such position or is subject to such liability.

When two parties are litigating, statement of any of them made prior to the litigation may be
proved at the trial if it amounts to admission. Ordinarily statements by strangers to a suit or
proceeding are not relevant as against the parties. A files a suit against B for possession of a
house alleging that it belongs to him. B contends that the house belongs to him. A can lead
evidence to the effect that B admitted his title to the house in dispute out of court. Similarly, B
can prove A's admission. If any one of them tries to prove that one C, who is not a part to the
proceeding, admitted his title to the house in dispute, he will be stopped from doing so. However,
in some cases admissions of strangers are relevant.
When in a suit a party to it in order to achieve success in the litigation, has to prove the position
or liability of a stranger to the proceeding, the statement of such stranger would be relevant
against a party to the proceeding as admission, if the statement is of such a nature that if a suit is
brought against him/her in relation to that position or liability against or by that person who
made the statements it would be relevant provided when the statement was made, the person
making the statement occupies such position or subject to such liability about which the
statement was made.
Under s 19 of the Act, the party to a suit can use the statement of even a third person, if the
statement of that third person contains an admission against his/her interest, and it is possible to
use the statement against the third person if he/she sues or is sued in connection with a matter
involving the position or liability affected by that admission.

Statements of Persons expressly referred to by Party to Suit

According to Section 20 of the Evidence Act 1872, ‘Statements made by persons to whom party
to the suit has expressly referred for information in reference to a matter in dispute, are
admissions.’
Thus, when a party refers to a third person for some information or an opinion on a matter in
dispute, the statement made by the third person are receivable as admission against the person
referring The reason is that when a party refers to another person for statement of his/her view,
he/she approves of that another person's statement in anticipation and adopts as his/her own. It is
immaterial whether the referee has or has not any peculiar knowledge on the subject or whether
the reference is made expressly or by conduct evincing an intention to rely on the statement as
correct.
Conclusion:
Admissions and confessions in Evidence Act play significant roles in the legal landscape,
particularly in civil and criminal cases. While both admissions and confessions in Evidence Act
involve relevant statements, they have distinct characteristics and implications.
Admissions are broader in scope, encompassing statements made in civil cases. They can be in
favour or against the party making them and can be made anywhere, even in the presence of
authorities or during police custody. Admissions may or may not be conclusive proof and can be
made by the party involved or third parties.
On the other hand, confessions specifically refer to admissions made in criminal cases. They
entail acknowledging guilt or substantial admission of facts leading to guilt. Confessions are
always against the interest of the confessing party and are binding on co-accused individuals.
They hold a higher evidentiary value and are generally considered satisfactory proof of the
accused’s guilt.
References:
Statutes:
 Evidence Act 1872
 The Code of Criminal Procedure 1898

Bibliography:
 Law of Evidence – Sarkar Ali Akkas
 Law of Evidence – M. Monir

Others:
 https://blog.ipleaders.in/relevancy-admissibility-admissions/
 https://lawbhoomi.com/admissions-and-confessions-in-evidence-act/#Conclusion