The Chhattisgarh High Court recently acquitted a 25-year-old man who was awarded a life sentence for murdering his father and grandmother, after his counsel was able to prove that the appellant was of unsound mind.
Holding that Dhamtari resident Mahesh Verma, who had been convicted for the 2021 double murder, fitted the term legally insane, the court said that the Investigating Officer admitted that during the investigation, he did not procure any documents relating to psychiatric treatment of the accused from his family members.
It further said that despite a preliminary report clearly referring to the appellant as a mental patient, no certificate from the treating psychiatrist was obtained, and the trial court merely relied on a report from the inquiry under Section 328 CrPC (which assesses competency to stand trial), not the mental status at the time of the act which is the legally relevant consideration under Section 22 BNS (or section 84 of the IPC referring to an Act by a person of unsound mind – Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, by reason of unsoundness of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he is doing what is either wrong or contrary to law).
