Retracted confession under FERA may sustain liability when voluntary, truthful and corroborated by surrounding circumstances.

A retracted confession recorded under FERA is not unreliable merely because it was later withdrawn; the authority must assess the surrounding circumstances, including the timing and manner of retraction, to decide whether it was voluntary and free from threat, coercion, inducement or duress. Such a statement can support liability if it is found truthful and corroborated by other material. Here, the statement was not withdrawn at the first opportunity and was supported by recovery of foreign currency from connected premises and by the detailed account of the transactions, which negatived coercion and provided sufficient corroboration. The contravention finding was upheld on that basis.

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Issues: Whether the retracted confessional statements recorded under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 were voluntary and reliable so as to sustain the finding of contravention and penalty.

Analysis: A retracted confession cannot be rejected merely because it has been withdrawn later. The deciding authority must examine the surrounding circumstances, including the time and manner of retraction, to determine whether the statement was made voluntarily and without threat, coercion, inducement, or duress. The confession may form the basis of liability if it is found to be voluntary and truthful, though prudence requires corroboration from other material. On the facts, the statement was not retracted at the first opportunity and was supported by the recovery of foreign currency from the connected premises and by the detailed account given regarding the transactions. These circumstances furnished sufficient corroboration and negatived the plea of coercion.

Conclusion: The retracted confession was rightly acted upon and the finding of contravention was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: A retracted confession under FERA is admissible and may sustain liability if the Court, on the surrounding circumstances and corroborative material, is satisfied that it was made voluntarily and truthfully; mere later retraction does not by itself render it unreliable.

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