Judicial Dictionary



Title Retracted Confession
Details

A retracted confession is a statement made by an accused person before the trial begins, by which he / she admits to have committed the offence, but which he/she repudiate at the trial. A confession is said to be retracted only where the accused admits that he/she made the confession and then denies the truth to what is stated therein. There is no concrete distinction between a retracted confession and unretracted confession, both are equally admissible and may be taken into consideration against the accused though it may be that less weight would be attached to a retracted confession.
A retracted confession, if believed to be true, may form the basis of conviction but as a rule of caution it is unsafe to base a conviction even of the maker on a retracted confession alone without some independent corroboration. The corroboration must be in material particulars so as to satisfy the court that the confession, even though retracted, may be acted upon.
It is well settled that a person can be convicted on retracted confession alone, if it is found voluntary and true though as a matter of prudence some corroboration may be asked for. ….. [Abdul Jalil & others vs State; 1985 BLD (HC) 137]
Retracted confession of an accused implicating a co-accused cannot be relied upon without corroboration in material particulars by independent evidence. ….. [Ali Asgar vs State, 1986 BLD (HC) 436(c)]
A retracted confession, if voluntarily made, can be acted upon along with other evidence. There is no rule of law that requires its corroboration by independent evidence in material particulars. But the use to be made of such a confession is a matter of prudence rather than of law. ….. [Queen-Empress vs. Gharya (1894) 19 Bom 728]


Retracted confessions–
It has been held in the case of State vs. Minhun alias Gul Hassan reported in PLD 1964 SC 813 that “Retracted confessions, whether judicial or extra-judicial, could legally be taken into consideration against the maker of those confessions himself, and if the confessions were found to be true and voluntary, then there was no need at all to look for further corroboration. As against the maker himself his confession, judicial or extra-judicial, whether retracted or not retracted, can in law validly form the sole basis of his conviction, if the Court is satisfied and believes that it was true and voluntary and was not obtained by torture or coercion or inducement.” ...Abdul Mannan(Md.) =VS= The State, (Criminal), 2021(1) [10 LM (AD) 223] ....View Full Judgment