FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY: INSANITY
INTRODUCTION:
- Insanity is an old term used loosely to denote any mental disorder or mental illness. The Indian Penal Code employs the term unsoundness of mind while referring to insanity.
- Lucid interval is the period of sanity (sound mind) in an insane person, i.e. period in course of mental illness when there is complete sensation of manifestations of insanity.
- During this period he is quite normal and can make valid will, sell/purchase property, give valid evidence and is legally responsible for his deeds.
- Patient is kept under observation for l0 days which can be extended upto maximum 30 days.
Civil responsibilities of insane:
Management of property, Contract, Marriage, Competency as witness, Validity of consent, Civil rights, Guardianship, Testamentary capacity (capacity of a person to make valid will).
Criminal responsibility of insane
In law, criminal responsibility means liability to punishment for the crimes committed.
Also that a person who is proved to be insane is not responsible for his actions, as he is devoid of free will, intelligence and knowledge in relation to his acts.
The criminal responsibility of an insane is judged by rules:
1) MC Naughten rule ( legal test or right or wrong test).
It states that an accused person is not legally responsible, if it is clearly proved that at the time of committing the crime, person was suffering from such a defect of reason from abnormality of mind that he didn’t know the nature and quality of act he was doing or that what he was doing was wrong i.e. a person is not responsible if he is not of sound mind (section 84 IPC).
2) Doctrine of partial responsibility: suffering from some weakness or aberration of mind (though not completely insane).
3) Durhan rule: Accused is not responsible for the act, if his act resulted from mental disease or defect.
4) Currens rule: A person is not responsible if at the time of committing the crime, he did not have the to regulate his conduct according to the requirments of law as a result of his mental disease or defect.
Exam Important
INTRODUCTION:
- The Indian Penal Code employs the term unsoundness of mind while referring to insanity.
- Lucid interval is the period of sanity (sound mind) in an insane person, i.e. period in course of mental illness when there is complete cessation of manifestations of insanity.
- During this period he is quite normal and can make valid will, sell/purchase property, give valid evidence and is legally responsible for his deeds.
- Patient is kept under observation for l0 days which can be extended upto maximum 30 days.
Civil responsibilities of insane:
Management of property, Contract, Marriage, Competency as witness, Validity of consent, Civil rights, Guardianship, Testamentary capacity (capacity of a person to make valid will).
Criminal responsibility of insane
In law, criminal responsibility means liability to punishment for the crimes committed.
Also that a person who is proved to be insane is not responsible for his actions, as he is devoid of free will, intelligence and knowledge in relation to his acts.
The criminal responsibility of an insane is judged by rules:
1) MC Naughten rule ( legal test or right or wrong test).
It states that an accused person is not legally responsible, if it is clearly proved that at the time of committing the crime, person was suffering from such a defect of reason from abnormality of mind that he didn’t know the nature and quality of act he was doing or that what he was doing was wrong i.e. a person is not responsible if he is not of sound mind (section 84 IPC).
2) Doctrine of partial responsibility: suffering from some weakness or aberration of mind (though not completely insane).
3) Durhan rule: Accused is not responsible for the act, if his act resulted from mental disease or defect.
4) Currens rule: A person is not responsible if at the time of committing the crime, he did not have the capacity to regulate his conduct according to the requirments of law as a result of his mental disease or defect.
