MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has observed that it is the duty of the trial court to ensure medical examination of the accused if it comes to know about their mental unsoundness and decide whether they are entitled for ‘insanity defence’, even if no plea pointing to the same is made by the defence.
The court made the observation while setting aside the life sentence of a murder convict, Vignesh Kumar, alias Kokki Vignesh Kumar. A division bench of Justices N Anand Venkatesh and PB Balaji stated so in an appeal filed by him.
As per the case, the appellant murdered R Vellaipandi by stabbing in the neck. He also tore open the stomach and took out the intestines and wore it as a garland. The crime took place in Tiruchy district in 2016.
The HC bench said it has no doubt that the appellant committed the murder but his act clearly indicates that he was not in a normal state of mind. His actions were so abnormal that the high court is unable to consider his conduct to be that of a normal human being.
Considering he has been undergoing treatment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in Chennai till date, the court said the IMH dean/director should have ensured that the appellant was given proper treatment for his illness. After such treatment, if the IMH is of the firm opinion that he has recovered and fit to rejoin his family, then the family members can approach the competent authority with a fitness certificate seeking his custody in accordanace with the law for individuals acquitted of a crime on grounds of insanity, it added.
Further, the bench stated that in the entire judgment of the trial court, there is no reference to his mental status. The trial court has been totally insensitive to such mitigating factors while convicting him.
“Right from the date of commission of the murder, the appellant has been found to be mentally unstable. Even during the trial, he was undergoing treatment,” the court said.
