RAM PRAKASH vs THE STATE OF PUNJAB

The Supreme Court held that under Section 30 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, a voluntary confession made by an accused can be considered against a co-accused, even if retracted, provided there is strong corroboration. The Court emphasized that the evidentiary value of a retracted confession requires careful scrutiny and corroboration in material particulars. In this case, the confession of co-accused P was deemed voluntary and true, with sufficient corroborative evidence linking the appellant to the crime, thus upholding the conviction and death sentence of the appellant for the murder of Nirmala Devi.