[S. 84 IPC] Kerala HC Allows Appeal By Accused Who Pled Insanity Over Parents' Murder, Says He Didn't Attempt To Flee, Maintained Affection For Parents

A division judge bench of Justice PB Suresh Kumar and Justice Johnson John allowed the appeal, stating that the “prosecution has not established the motive of the accused to cause the death of his parents. Similarly, the accused has not made any attempt to run away from the scene after causing the death of his parents”.

The accused was the younger son of the two victims. The incident occurred on September 30, 2015, when the accused was home alone with the two victims. Subsequently, a case was registered with the final report alleging the commission of an offence punishable under Section 302 of IPC (punishment for murder).

The counsel for the accused argued that he has been suffering from mental ailments for about 20 years. It was submitted that the lower court rejected the plea of insanity and on an appraisal of the materials on record, found the accused guilty of the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC (punishment for murder).

The court looked into the medical history of the accused which showed that the accused had been admitted to the Government Mental Health Centre, Thrissur for about a year for psychosis and had been taking medicines for paranoid schizophrenia. Additionally, it was noted that the accused had also been admitted after the incident from October 12, 2015, to February 16, 2016, and again from August 12, 2016, till August 18, 2016.

The court stated that the issue in this matter was to determine whether the accused was incapable of knowing the nature of the act performed by him as either wrong or contrary to the law due to the unsoundness of mind. To determine this, the court examined the conduct of the accused while committing the offence or immediately after the commission of the offence.

The bench remarked that “it has come out in evidence that though the accused is not a person who mingles much with others, and used to wander around various places without any motivation to do anything, he is a person who loves and respects his parents.”

The court went on to say that “even though the mere fact that no motive has been proved for the accused to cause the death of his parents and the very fact that he had not made any attempt to run away would not indicate by itself that he was insane, according to us, in the peculiar facts of this case, the same are also to be taken note of in the matter of deciding the entitlement of the appellant the benefit of Section 84 IPC”

Given that the accused did not immediately flee the vicinity and his affection towards his parents along with the fact that the prosecution had not established any motive for the crime, the court allowed the appeal and granted immunity under Section 84 of IPC (persons of unsound mind).

Counsel for Petitioners: Advocates Augustu Binu, Anju Thomas M, Cyriac Tom and Karthik J Sekhar

Counsel for Respondents: Advocate Sheeba Thomas, Public Prosecutor

Case Title: Shine Kumar v. State of Kerala

Case Number: Crl A. No. 1676 of 2023

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 81