Retracted Section 108 confession requires independent corroboration; separated co-accused statements alone cannot sustain conviction.

A retracted confession recorded under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 may be considered only if its voluntariness and truth are supported by corroborative facts and circumstances. Where no independent material connected the accused to the seizure or alleged smuggling, and documents recovered from his premises did not advance the prosecution case, the statement could not safely sustain the conviction. Retracted statements of separated co-accused could not provide the necessary corroboration or assurance by themselves. In the absence of independent corroboration, the acquittal was upheld and the appeal failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether a conviction could be sustained on the basis of a retracted statement recorded under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962, and whether retracted statements of separated co-accused could furnish corroboration or assurance for that statement.

Analysis: A retracted confession is not barred from consideration, but prudence requires the Court to look for corroborative facts and circumstances to test whether the statement was voluntary and true. The record disclosed no independent material connecting the accused with the seizure or the alleged smuggling activity, and the documents recovered from his premises did not advance the prosecution case. The retracted statements of the other accused could not be used as corroborative evidence, as they were not being jointly tried and, in any event, a co-accused statement cannot by itself supply the necessary assurance without other supporting evidence.

Conclusion: The prosecution failed to provide adequate corroboration for the retracted statement, and the acquittal was upheld.

Final Conclusion: In the absence of independent corroboration, the retracted statement under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 could not justify reversal of the acquittal, and the appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A retracted confession may be acted upon only when its voluntariness and truth are established and the prosecution evidence supplies sufficient corroboration or assurance; a separated co-accused's retracted statement cannot, by itself, serve as such corroboration.

---