Supreme Court: FIR Statements by One Accused Cannot Be Used Against Another

The Supreme Court ruled that a statement made in an FIR by one accused cannot be used against another.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan clarified that such statements are inadmissible under Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, even against the person who made them, unless they testify in court.

If an FIR combines both exculpatory and inculpatory elements which are inseparable, the entire statement must be excluded.

The Court cited precedents like Faddi v. State of MP (1964) and Aghnoo Nagesia v. State of Bihar (1965) to support this principle.

[Narayan Yadav v. State of Chhattisgarh]