An extra judicial confession is admissible in evidence if it is voluntary and not the result of persuasion or coercion.

( 1 ) THE two petitioners Srimanta Manna and Sashi Manna, Srimanta being Sashi's son, were convicted under Section 379 and under Section 411, I. P. C. respectively and were sentenced to R. I. for four months. The case for the prosecution briefly is that on 11-9-1950 in the evening Atul Manna and the other members of his household had gone out when a burglary was committed in his house and from a wall almirah in the southern varandah of Atul Manna's dwelling house a sum of Rs. 530, a number of documents and some gold and silver ornaments (Ex. I to V) which had been kept in a wooden box (Ex. VII) and a number of documents kept in a suit case (Ex. VIII) were taken away. The burglary was detected by P. W. 2 Satyabhama Manna when she found a bottle (Ex. XII) lying in the courtyard and a plate Ex. XI, lying on a bench. She and her Mashi Snehalata Manna, P. W. 4 who also happened to be at the house at the time raised a hue and cry which brought to Atul's house some of the villagers including P. W. 5 Sk. Nuruddin, P. W. 7 Jadunath Sanbighna, P. W. 8 Iswar Manna and P. W. 9 Iswar Bera. Atul's wife P. W. 4 told these people of the theft of cash and ornaments and documents from the almirah. On the east of the house of Atul there is a jute field which belonged to the accused and foot-prints were found leading to the house of Srimanta. P. Ws. 1, 5, 7, 8 and 9 together with others then went to the house of Srimanta when Srimanta was questioned about the theft and although he denied any knowledge of any such theft, after a few minutes confessed to having taken cash of Rs. 530, and the ornaments Exs. I to V tied up in a napkin and also the wooden box, Ex. VII, and the tin suit case, Ex. VIII, and stated that he had taken them and that he had made them over to his father Sashi. Sashi was then persuaded by the villagers to produce the articles if those had been stolen and Sashi ultimately produced those articles--the cash and ornaments which had been tied up in a napkin, and he is also alleged to have stated that the documents had been burnt. The villagers present including Atul then went to the kitchen in the house of the petitioners and found the ashes of burnt documents. Atul then called Chowkidar Gopal Maity to the house of the petitioners where they made over the articles Exs. I to VIII and the cash amounting to Rs. 530/- in currency notes to him. At 10 p. m. the very same day Atul went to Chandpur Beat-house and reported what had happened. This was entered in the General Diary, the relevant entry being Ex. 4. The A. S. I. in charge of the beat-house then proceeded to the house of the petitioners where he seized the money and the articles in question and the search-list is Ex 5. On the next day Atul went to the police station at 11-45 a. m. and lodged an information which was recorded as the first information report and this has been, treated as the first information report in the case.

( 2 ) THE petitioners were sent up on investigation. Their defence at the trial was that they were not guilty and that the articles in question belonged to Sashi Manna himself and that he did not produce them as alleged by the prosecution witnesses but what was done was that they invaded his house and took out the articles themselves and it is further the defence that Sashi did not make any statement as alleged by some of the prosecution witnesses. The trial Court found on evidence that there was a burglary in the house of Atul as alleged by the prosecution, that the villagers following the footsteps leading towards the house of the petitioners, went to the house of the petitioners and asked them about the theft, that Srimanta denied having had anything to do with the theft but ultimately a few minutes later confessed having committed the burglary and stolen cash amounting to Rs. 530/- and ornaments and other things and having made them over to his father and that his father on being asked by the witnesses to produce the articles if those had