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The prosecution to substantiate the charges examined 63 witnesses. The designated court for holding the appellant guilty has, inter alia, relied upon the evidence of Deepali (PW-3), the approver Kulvinder Singh (PW-1), and the confessional statement of the appellant. It may be noticed that the confessional statement made by the appellant was retracted by him only during recording of his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The main emphasis in the submissions of Mr. Murlidhar, learned counsel for the appellant, was to demolish the prosecution case in respect of conviction and sentence of the appellant in the bomb blast case. It was rightly so for the reason that the acquittal of the appellant in respect of other incidents would be of no or little consequence if his conviction in bomb blast case is maintained, wherein he has been awarded life imprisonment.

Again in Jayawant Dattatray Suryarao v. State of Maharashtra [JT 2001 (9) SC 605] making a detailed reference to the aforenoticed decisions, the contention urged on behalf of the accused with regard to the admissibility and evidentiary value of the confessional statement was dispelled. It was held that the confessional statement is a substantive piece of evidence.

It is thus well established that a voluntary and truthful confessional statement recorded under Section 15 of the TADA Act requires no corroboration. Here, we are concerned primarily with the confessional statement of the maker. The weight to be attached to the truthful and voluntary confession made by an accused under Section 15 of the TADA Act came to be considered again in a recent three Judge Bench decision in Devender Pal Singh v. State of N.C.T. of Delhi & Anr. [JT 2002 (3) SC 264]. It was held in the majority opinion that the confessional statement of the accused can be relied upon for the purpose of conviction and no further corroboration is necessary if it relates to the accused himself.

There can be no doubt that a free and voluntary confession deserves the highest credit. It is presumed to flow from the highest sense of guilt. Having examined the record, we are satisfied that the confession made by the appellant is voluntary and truthful and was recorded, as already noticed, by due observance of all the safeguards provided under Section 15 and the appellant could be convicted solely on the basis of his confession.

Faced with the aforesaid confessional statement made by the appellant and the legal position regarding its admissibility as a substantive piece of evidence, Mr. Murlidhar contended that as there are inherent contradictions in the confessional statement of the appellant when compared with the confessional statement made by the co-accused, Nishan Singh, the learned designated court committed serious illegality in convicting the appellant by relying upon his confessional statement. Besides that of the appellant, we have also gone through the confessional statement of Nishan Singh. For more than one reason, we are unable to accept the contention of Mr. Murlidhar. Firstly, the confessional statement made by the appellant is not required to be examined with reference to the confessional statement made by Nishan Singh and, therefore, there is no question of contradictions between the two confessions. Independently, it could not be shown as to why the conviction of the appellant could not be maintained on the basis of his confessional statement. Secondly, the confession made by the appellant requires no corroboration. Thirdly, the confession has been found to be truthful and voluntary. Fourthly, in our view, there is general corroboration regarding the implication of the appellant in the confessional statement made by Nishan Singh and there are no material contradictions in the two confessional statements. The minor contradictions in the statement of Nishan Singh when compared with that of the appellant are of no consequence. Learned counsel was unable to show that the confession was not voluntary. The circumstances like non-mention of going to the house of the approver by Nishan Singh or non-reference by him of Kulvinder Singh in his confessional statement does not cast any doubt on the truthfulness of the confession. Similarly the non-mention of the name of the appellant by Nishan Singh at the time of encounter on 2nd December, 1991 in his statement is also of no consequence insofar as the conviction of the appellant in the bomb blast case is concerned. It is worthwhile to notice that if in this regard, Nishan Singh was to be believed as stated in his confessional statement that only he and Pradhan Singh were in the house of Jagtar Singh when encounter took place which resulted in his arrest and killing of Pradhan Singh, then we see no reason why and how in the documents prepared soon thereafter by the police, presence of a third person at the time of encounter would be shown particularly when the appellant was arrested much later, i.e., on 6th July, 1992.

We see no reason to discard the confessional statement of Nishan Singh and of the evidence of PW-3 and of course the confessional statement of the appellant and as such the conviction deserves to be maintained. Looking from any angle, the conviction of the appellant does not deserve to be disturbed.

We, however, place on record our appreciation for the pains taken by Mr. Murlidhar in marshalling the facts and preparation of the same and it has been a very able presentation before this Court.

But in view of the discussions noticed above, we find no illegality in the judgment under appeal. As such the appeal stands dismissed.