Section 124

Any Magistrate may record any statement or confession made to him at any time before the commencement of an inquiry or trial.

Any such statement or confession shall be recorded in full and any question asked by the Magistrate and any answer given to it shall be clearly shown as being a question and answer.

No Magistrate shall record any such statement or confession unless upon questioning the person making it he has reason to believe that it was made voluntarily and shall make a memorandum at the foot of such record to the following effect:“I believe that this statement (or confession) was voluntarily made. It was taken in my presence and hearing, and was read over to the person making it and admitted by him to be correct and it contains a full and true account of what he said.(Signed) A.B.Magistrate”.

If the person making the statement or confession does not understand English the proceedings shall be interpreted to him in his own language or in a language which he understands and the memorandum referred to in subsection (3) shall be signed by the Magistrate and by the interpreter.

The taking and recording of any statement or confession shall not disqualify a Magistrate who has so taken and recorded it from inquiring into or trying the case.

If any court before which a confession or other statement of an accused person recorded under this section is tendered in evidence finds that the provisions of the section have not been fully complied with by the Magistrate recording the statement, it shall take evidence that that person duly made the statement recorded and, if it is satisfied of that, the statement shall be admitted if the error has not injured the accused as to his defence on the merits.[123