voluntary confession deserves due credit as it is
presumed to flow from the highest sense of guilt.
(vi) Judicial confession might have been retracted ... materials produced by independent witnesses.
(vii) Appellant Mrinal Dutta having retracted his confession only at a
much later stage without specifying any reason therefor
further submission is that the
other item of evidence namely the retracted confessions
cannot be relied upon since they do not appear to be true ... actual murder of D- 1,
we have the retracted confessions of A- 1 and A-2 and we
shall examine at a later stage whether
confession voluntary
and true; yet, as a rule of practice, it is unsafe to rely upon a
confession, particularly, if the confession stands retracted unless ... true. In short, thus, even if the confession is retracted, such
a retracted confession can be treated as true if it receives general
corroboration from
taken into consideration and no conviction can be based on such retracted confession.
45. Sri J.M. Choudhury in support of his argument relied upon ... this Hon'ble Court discusses the value of retracted confession, which reads as under:
In respect of retracted confession by an accused
There is therefore no doubt that the confession was voluntary.
5. The confession has now been retracted, In other words, when the accused person does ... that when the explanation for the retraction is false even a conviction can be based on the retracted confession itself ( S) , Balbir Singh v. State
confession voluntary and true;
yet, as a rule of practice, it is unsafe to rely upon a confession, particularly, if the
confession stands retracted, unless ... upon
merely on the ground that the confession stands retracted, for, even a retracted
confession can form legal basis for conviction if the Court
incriminating matter against him was only the appelpant's retracted confession. We are not concerned with the merits of the acquittal although ... confession is true.
15. The only question that remains to be considered whether the confession is corroborated, since it is a retracted confession. The fact
doubt. The evidence of the approver P.W. 1 and the retracted
confession of accused 6 Exh. 138 with the corroborative
evidence namely, the recovery ... besides
the evidence of the approver P.W. 1 and the retracted
confession of accused 5. Those four pieces of evidence are:
(1) recovery
retracted confessions. When there is other evidence in support of the prosecution case, confessions made by the accused though retracted can be used to lend ... confessions strictly adhering to legal provisions, mere assertions of the accused that confessions were not voluntary deserve rejection. Merely because the confession has been retracted
accused before recording his confession. There is thus no legal impediment in acting upon the confession Ex P 59.
RETRACTION OF CONFESSION
(30). The contention ... confession Ex. P. 3.
In the case of Kora Ghasi (supra) the confession was not acted upon as it had been retracted and there
