Retracted Section 67 statement cannot alone support conviction without voluntariness and independent corroboration.

A retracted statement recorded under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 cannot sustain conviction by itself unless the prosecution proves it was voluntary and supports it with independent corroborative evidence. Here, the record showed an immediate retraction, allegations of illegal custody and coercion, defence evidence supporting those allegations, no recovery from the accused, and no independent corroboration of the alleged confession. A later statement of a co-accused did not fill that gap. On those facts, the trial court's acquittal was left undisturbed and leave to appeal was refused.

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Issues: Whether a statement recorded under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 could sustain prosecution without independent corroboration when its voluntariness was disputed and retraction was made at the earliest opportunity.

Analysis: The prosecution failed to establish that the statement attributed to the accused was made voluntarily. The trial record showed prompt retraction, allegations of illegal custody and coercion, and defence evidence supporting those allegations. No recovery was made from the accused, and no independent evidence corroborated the alleged confession. The statement of a co-accused recorded later also did not supply the missing corroboration. In these circumstances, the evidentiary value of the Section 67 statement was insufficient to dislodge the acquittal recorded by the trial court.

Conclusion: The statement under Section 67 could not be relied upon as the sole basis of conviction in the absence of proof of voluntariness and independent corroboration, and the refusal to grant leave to appeal was justified.

Final Conclusion: The acquittal of the respondent remained undisturbed, and the criminal leave petition was not entertained.

Ratio Decidendi: A retracted statement under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 cannot, by itself, sustain conviction unless the prosecution proves that it was voluntary and is supported by independent corroborative evidence.

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