Retracted confessions require strict voluntariness and independent corroboration before they can sustain conviction.

A retracted confession recorded under Section 164 CrPC can support conviction only if it was made voluntarily, truthfully, and without threat, coercion, inducement, or police influence, with the statutory safeguards followed in letter and spirit. The Court emphasised that short reflection time, lack of meaningful legal assistance, and surrounding inconsistencies may undermine reliability. Once retracted, the confession requires independent corroborative circumstances forming a chain pointing only to guilt; absent such corroboration, it cannot safely be the sole basis of conviction. On the facts described, the record did not supply adequate corroboration, so the finding of guilt was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the conviction could be sustained on the basis of a retracted judicial confession recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and whether the confession satisfied the requirements of voluntariness, fairness, and corroboration.

Analysis: A confession under Section 164 is admissible only if it is shown to have been made voluntarily, truthfully, and free from threat, coercion, inducement, or police influence. The safeguards in the provision must be complied with in letter and spirit, not in a routine or mechanical manner. The circumstances in which the confession was recorded, including the short time given for reflection, the absence of meaningful legal assistance, and the surrounding inconsistencies, cast doubt on its reliability. Where a confession is retracted, greater caution is required, and the Court must look for corroborative circumstances that independently form a chain pointing only to the guilt of the accused. The record did not disclose such corroboration.

Conclusion: The retracted confession could not safely form the sole basis of conviction, and the findings of guilt were unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: A retracted confession recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 can sustain conviction only when its voluntariness and truth are established in strict compliance with the statutory safeguards and it is sufficiently corroborated by independent circumstances.

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