THE INSANITY DEFENCE: LEGAL STANDARD AND CONTROVERSIES

AUTHOR – SHRISHTI JAISWAL, STUDENT AT AMITY LAW SCHOOL, NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH AMITY UNIVERSITY, NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH

BEST CITATION – SHRISHTI JAISWAL, THE CHILLING EFFECT OF SEDITION LAWS ON PRESS FREEDOM IN INDIA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (8) OF 2025, PG. 878-902, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344

Abstract  

As per my research report on ‘insanity defense : legal standard and controversies’, the insanity defense is a legal concept in criminal law which allows a defendant to argue they are not responsible for a crime due to a mental illness or defect at the time of offense. It’s a controversial area, as it raises questions about free will, culpability and treatment of individuals with mental health issues. The legal standard for insanity varies by jurisdiction and it requires a significant impairment in mental functioning that prevents to defendant from understanding the nature of their actions or differentiating right from wrong.  The insanity defense also known as the psychological condition defense and it is an affirmative defence by reason in an unlawful case and arguing that defendant isn’t responsible for their  conduct due to insanity at the time of the felonious act. These provides a comprehensive disquisition of the insanity defense, assaying its legal foundations, difficulties, and broader counteraccusations. excavating into literal  elaboration, psychiatric  perceptivity, and  corner case law. Insanity defense is primarily used in criminal prosecutions. It is based on the assumption that at the time of the crime, the defendant was suffering from severe mental illness and therefore, was incapable of appreciating the nature of the crime and differentiating right from wrong behavior, hence making them not legally accountable for crime. Insanity defense is a legal concept not a clinical. This means that just suffering from a mental disorder is not sufficient to prove insanity. The defendant has the burden of proving the defense of insanity by a preponderance of the evidence which is similar to a civil case. An evaluating a defendant’s mental status examination and briefly discuss the legal standards and procedures for the assessment of insanity defense evaluations.

Keywords: Criminal responsibility, Indian Penal Code Section-84, insanity defense, legal insanity, medical insanity