NDPS Act

By Soumya Kundu Views: 13423

Scope and evidentiary value of statement - The scope and evidentiary value of the statement recorded under section 67 of the Act can be summarised as under:

Statements in the form of confession if recorded by a police officer conducting investigation, cannot be used against the accused as evidence in view of the bar contained in section 25 of the Evidence Act.
Confessional statement recorded of one accused cannot be used for basing the conviction of the other accused of the same case.
Confessional statement, though retracted at the subsequent stage of the trial, can be used against the person making it if the court is satisfied that it was not obtained by threat, duress, or promise. However, prudence and practice require that the court would seek assurance getting corroboration from other evidence by the prosecution.
Retracted confession may form the basis of conviction if it receives some general corroboration from other independent sources.
The statement recorded under provision cannot be read against the person after the person is arrested and named as an accused person.
The statement recorded under provisions cannot be considered voluntary if it is recorded after keeping the accused in detention for a sufficient long period.