Section 37B
Admission of statements in evidence
Where any person is charged with any offence against this
Act any statement, whether such statement amounts to a confession or not or is oral or in writing, made at any time, whether before or after such person is charged and whether in the course of a police investigation or not and whether or not wholly or partly in answer to questions, by such person to or in the hearing of any police officer of or above the rank of Inspector or any senior officer of customs and whether or not interpreted to him by any other police officer or senior officer of customs or any other person concerned or not in the arrest, shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any written law, be admissible at his trial in evidence and, if such person tenders himself as a witness, any such statement may be used in cross-examination and for the purpose of impeaching his credit:
Provided that no such statement shall be admissible or used as aforesaid—
(a)
if the making of the statement appears to the Court to have been caused by any inducement, threat or promise having reference to the charge against such person, proceeding from a person in authority and sufficient in the opinion of the Court to give such person grounds which would appear to him reasonable for supposing that by making it he would gain any advantage or avoid any evil of a temporal nature in reference to the proceeding against him; or
(b)
in the case of a statement made by such person after his arrest, unless the court is satisfied that a caution was administered to him in the following words or words to the like effect—
“It is my duty to warn you that you are not obliged to say anything or to answer any question, but anything you say, whether in answer to a question or not, may be given in evidence”:
Provided that a statement made by any person before there is time to caution him shall not be rendered
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inadmissible in evidence merely by reason of no such caution having been given if it has been given as soon as possible.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any written law a person accused of an offence to which subsection (1)
applies shall not be bound to answer any questions relating to such case after any such caution as aforesaid has been administered to him.
(3)
Where a statement is purported to be made by a person charged with an offence against this Act under and in accordance with section 113 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the statement so made shall be deemed to have been made under and in accordance with this section.