The Socio-Legal Underpinnings Of ‘Mental Illness’ In The Contemporary Criminal Justice System In India
Ms. Prerna Tandon, Advocate, High Court of Delhi
ABSTRACT
The concepts of mental element, mental health, mental illness, and insanity occupy a distinctive place within the realm of Indian law and the Criminal Justice System. Owing to its inherent vagueness, it has often become a point of controversy among legislators, policy makers, and legal actors in relation to the degree of liability of persons with mental illness, the feasibility of raising a plea of ‘insanity’ during criminal trial, as well as the manner in which persons with mental illnesses should be treated by various institutions within the legal and criminal justice system. In light of rising mental health awareness movement occupying a central stage in the times after the Covid- 19 pandemic, we are moving away from the conventionally traditional meanings of ‘madness’ or ‘insanity’ and it is imperative to reconceptualize these concepts in a critical manner so as to accommodate within its realm the ever-evolving contemporary doctrines that have altered the way we adjudge issues of ‘mental incapacity’. In pursuance of the same, this paper is an attempt to understand the various social-legal dimensions of ‘mental illness’ in a slowly progressing society like India and also to critically review the stance of Indian judiciary in dealing with claims of mental health, or rather insanity, through its various pronouncements over the last few decades.
Keywords: mental illness, insanity defence, mens rea, criminal justice, reform, Indian judiciary
