Central Excise officers are not police officers under evidence law, so statements to them remain admissible.

A Central Excise Officer under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 is not a police officer for section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 merely because the Act confers powers of arrest, search, or inquiry. The scheme of the Act was treated as directed to levy and collection of excise duty, with such powers being ancillary, and section 21 did not deem the officer to be an officer-in-charge of a police station or confer power to file a charge-sheet under section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. A statement made to such an officer was therefore admissible, and section 24 did not exclude the confession.

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Issues: Whether a Central Excise Officer under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 is a police officer within the meaning of Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and whether a statement made to such officer is inadmissible in evidence.

Analysis: The Act was held to be primarily concerned with levy and collection of excise duty, and the powers of arrest and search conferred on Central Excise Officers were treated as ancillary to that purpose. Section 21 of the Act gave the officer powers similar to those of an officer-in-charge of a police station for the purpose of inquiry into a forwarded arrestee's charge, but the section did not deem the officer to be an officer-in-charge of a police station and did not confer the power to submit a charge-sheet under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. The scheme of the Act was distinguished from the Bihar and Orissa Excise Act, 1915, and mere possession of investigative powers was held insufficient to make the officer a police officer even on the broader construction of Section 25.

Conclusion: A Central Excise Officer is not a police officer within Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and the statement made to him is admissible in evidence; the confession was not excluded by Section 24.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory officer does not become a police officer for Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 merely because the statute confers powers of inquiry or investigation similar to those of a police station officer, unless the statute also treats him as such or confers the essential incidents of police authority.

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