Retracted confession in foreign exchange adjudication may be relied on when voluntary and corroborated by surrounding evidence.

A retracted confession in foreign exchange adjudication may be relied on when the retraction is unsupported by material showing coercion or involuntariness, and when the statement is corroborated by seized documents and surrounding circumstances. Proceedings under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 are governed by natural justice and the prescribed adjudicatory procedure, not the strict rules of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, so the section 30 bar was treated as inapplicable. Co-accused statements and other supporting materials were therefore treated as relevant, while belated self-serving affidavits were given no weight. The penalty and confiscation order was affirmed.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the appellant's retracted confession could be relied upon in the foreign exchange adjudication proceedings. (ii) Whether the confession of a co-accused and other affidavits/statements were inadmissible or of no evidentiary value in proceedings under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973.

Issue (i): Whether the appellant's retracted confession could be relied upon in the foreign exchange adjudication proceedings.

Analysis: The statement was retracted on the plea of duress and threat, but no material was produced to substantiate coercion, torture, or involuntariness. There was no medical record or other supporting circumstance to displace the presumption of voluntariness. The statement was also supported by seized documents and surrounding circumstances, which furnished corroboration in material particulars. A retracted confession is not excluded as a matter of law and may be acted upon if found voluntary and truthful.

Conclusion: The retracted confession was validly relied upon and sustained the finding of contravention.

Issue (ii): Whether the confession of a co-accused and other affidavits/statements were inadmissible or of no evidentiary value in proceedings under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973.

Analysis: The proceedings under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 are governed by the prescribed procedure and principles of natural justice, and not by the strict rules of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Accordingly, the bar under section 30 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 was held inapplicable. The affidavits relied upon by the appellant were treated as belated and self-serving materials lacking contemporaneous probative value, while the statements of other persons were treated as relevant supporting material in the adjudication context.

Conclusion: The challenge based on inadmissibility of co-accused material and affidavits failed.

Final Conclusion: The adjudication order imposing penalty and directing confiscation was affirmed, and the appeal failed in full.

Ratio Decidendi: In foreign exchange adjudication, a retracted confession may be relied upon if it is found voluntary and corroborated, and the strict evidentiary exclusion applicable to criminal trials does not control such proceedings.

---