Applying the principle stated in Nanhibai v. State of M.P. (1997), may a Magistrate elicit a confession…

Under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973), as explained in Nanhibai v. State of M.P. (1997), a Magistrate recording a confession must question the person to be satisfied that the confession is being made voluntarily, but must not put leading questions or cross-examine the person to elicit or extract a confession. A confession under Section 183 must be the maker's own spontaneous and voluntary narrative.