https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=169745 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. en-us Fri, 24 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 24 Nov 2015 09:53:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=169745 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. Case-Laws Indian Laws Fri, 24 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=169745