Voluntary confession under TADA can sustain conviction as substantive evidence, with identification and surrounding material providing corroboration.

A confession recorded in compliance with Section 15 of the TADA Act is admissible as substantive evidence and, if voluntary and truthful, can by itself sustain conviction without further corroboration. The Court found the appellant's confession to have been recorded with the required safeguards and accepted it as voluntary and truthful. It also treated the injured eyewitness's identification evidence, supported by the co-accused's confession, as sufficient corroboration of the appellant's involvement. Challenges based on alleged inconsistencies, delay in identification proceedings, and the approver's testimony were rejected, and the conviction under TADA and allied offences was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the appellant's conviction under the TADA Act and allied offences was sustainable on the basis of a voluntary confession under Section 15 of the TADA Act, supported by identification evidence and other surrounding material.

Analysis: A confession recorded in compliance with Section 15 of the TADA Act is admissible as substantive evidence. A voluntary and truthful confession made by the maker can itself form the basis of conviction without further corroboration. The confession in question was found to have been recorded with the required safeguards and was held to be voluntary and truthful. The Court also found that the identification evidence of the injured eyewitness, together with the confession of the co-accused, furnished sufficient corroboration of the appellant's involvement. Objections based on alleged inconsistencies, delay in identification proceedings, and the approver's testimony were not accepted as sufficient to dislodge the conviction.

Conclusion: The conviction was upheld and interference was declined; the appellant's challenge failed.

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