Voluntary customs confession admissible in evidence and capable of sustaining conviction when supported by surrounding circumstances.

Voluntary confessional statements recorded by Customs officers under Section 108 of the Customs Act are admissible because such officers are not police officers for Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, as they do not exercise the full investigative powers leading to a report under Section 173 CrPC. A statement is reliable if shown to be voluntary, and a belated retraction may be treated as an afterthought when the circumstances show no timely protest. On the facts, recovery of gold biscuits, the voluntary statements, and the absence of a lawful explanation for possession supported conviction, which was sustained.

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Issues: Whether the voluntary confessional statements recorded under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 were admissible in evidence and could form the basis of conviction under Section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The confessional statements made before Customs officers are not hit by Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 merely because such officers exercise powers of search, seizure, and inquiry. A Customs officer is not a police officer for the purpose of Section 25 because he does not possess all the powers of investigation culminating in a report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. A statement under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 is admissible if it is voluntary, and a belated retraction may be treated as an afterthought when the surrounding circumstances show no timely protest. On the facts, the recovery of gold biscuits, the voluntary statements, and the absence of lawful explanation for possession supported the finding of guilt, and no perversity or illegality was shown in revision.

Conclusion: The statements were held admissible and reliable, and the conviction under Section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962 was sustained against the accused.

Ratio Decidendi: A voluntary confession made before a Customs officer under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 is admissible and can sustain conviction unless it is shown to be involuntary or otherwise legally inadmissible; a Customs officer is not a police officer for the purpose of Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

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