MOHAMMED RAHAMATHULLA Vs. STATE OF MYSORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is an accused standing trial before the IInd Additional Sessions Judge, Bangalore. In this revision petition, he has challenged the order passed by the learned Sessions Judge on I. A. No. IV in Bangalore Sessions Case No. 22/1967 holding that the confession statement recorded by the Magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, to be hereinafter called the 'Code' in not hit by the proviso to Section 13(3) of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, to be herein after called the 'Act'.

(2.) The accused is tried for an offence under Section 3 of the Act. In the course of the trial, the prosecution sought admission of the confession statement recorded by the Magistrate of Doddaballapur on 22-3-1965 in evidence. The accused was arrested on 9-9-1965 and was produced before the Magistrate on 10-9-1965. He was remanded to police custody till 23-9-1965. He was produced by the Police before the Magistrate on 20-9-65 with a request to record his confession statement under Section 164 of the Code. The Magistrate remanded the accused to judicial custody till 21-9-1965. When the accused was produced before the Magistrate, he felt that it was necessary to record the confession in open Court and, therefore, remanded the accused to judicial custody with a direction to produce him on 29-9-1965. The accused was produced before him on that day and he recorded the confession statement in open Court. Subsequently, the Central Government accorded sanction to lay complaint against the accused.

(3.) The short question for decision is whether the confession statement recorded by the Magistrate under Section 164 of the Code in this case is inadmissible in evidence.