THE INSANITY DEFENCE: BALANCING JUSTICE AND COMPASSION IN MENTAL HEALTH CASES
AUTHOR – HARSHIT JAIN* & UJJWAL KUMAR SINGH**
* STUDENT AT UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN
** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN
BEST CITATION – HARSHIT JAIN & UJJWAL KUMAR SINGH, THE INSANITY DEFENCE: BALANCING JUSTICE AND COMPASSION IN MENTAL HEALTH CASES, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (5) OF 2025, PG. 916-921, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344
Abstract
An intricate legal theory that is at the crossroads of law, psychology, and ethics is India’s insanity defence. It is defined by the 22nd section of the BNS (section 84th of IPC) recognizes that people having serious behavioural disorders might not be able to comprehend the gravity of their acts, which brings important considerations concerning responsibility, retribution, and recovery. Complicated clinical assessments, a lack of psychological care assets, and societal prejudice are some of the obstacles to the actual application of the theory, which has its origins in the British McNaughten Rules of 1843 and permits offenders with mental illnesses to circumvent conventional penalty.