Chhattisgarh High Court acquits man convicted for murdering kin on grounds of ‘legal insanity’

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).

The HC held that an accused who seeks exoneration from liability for an act under Section 84 has to prove legal insanity and not medical insanity.

Legal insanity

“Since the term insanity or unsoundness of mind has not been defined in the Penal Code, it carries different meaning in different contexts and describes varying degrees of mental disorder. A distinction is to be made between legal insanity and medical insanity. The court is concerned with legal insanity and not with medical insanity,” the verdict delivered by Judge Bibhu Datta Guru and Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha said.

Mahesh’s counsel, Abhishek Sinha, had  argued before the High Court that his client was suffering from insanity at the time, and a non-examination of his mental state created a serious infirmity in the case. Mr. Sinha said the accused had suffered a head injury during Covid 19 lockdown, and his mental state was not good, and he had been under treatment for the last year at Raipur Mmental Hospital.

 The incident 

On April 13, 2021, at around 11 pm, Mahesh, who was kept locked in his room because he was mentally unstable, demanded that his mother, Rekha, open the door so he could get water. His mother was fearful and did not open the door; she called her husband, Pannalal Verma, who subsequently opened the door.

When his family asked him why he was creating a commotion, Mahesh said, “I am Hanuman ji, Bajrang Bali, and Durga.” He then pushed away his mother and started attacking his father and grandmother, Triveni. His mother went to seek help from the neighbours but by the time she returned, Pannalal and Triveni were dead. The matter went to a Sessions court which convicted Mahesh for double murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment in February 2024.