Present: Jayewardene A.J.

KING v. BILINDA et al.

123, 123A-D. C. (Crim.) Kegalla, 2,386.

    Confession-Failure of Magistrate to comply with requirements of the Code-No memorandum or signature of accused-Admissibility- Criminal Procedure Code, ss. 134, 302-404.

Where a Police Magistrate records the confession of an accused person, without complying with any of the requirements of sections 134 and 302 of the Criminal Procedure Code,-

Held, the confession was inadmissible in evidence.

Semble, in such a case it is not possible to resort to section 424 of the Criminal Procedure Code to make good the omission.

Observations as to the procedure to be adopted when an accused person who wishes to make a confession is produced before a Magistrate by a Police Officer.

THE accused were charged under section 456 of the Penal Code with forgery of a deed. On the deed, purporting to be signed by one Horatala, as grantor, a civil action was brought in the Court of Requests of Gampola.- When the civil case was terminated, Horatala, who denied having executed the deed sent a petition regarding it, and a police investigation was directed. As a result of thi