Lawstreet Journal

Kerala High Court Acquits Accused in Triple Murder Case for Failure of Investigation Officer to Ascertain Mental Stability [READ JUDGMENT]

Lawstreet Journal 18 Jun 2021 12:57am

Image courtesy: Lawstreet Journal Judiciary Kerala High Court Acquits Accused in Triple Murder Case for Failure of Investigation Officer to Ascertain Mental Stability [READ JUDGMENT]

While hearing an appeal, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court set aside the accused's conviction and sentence in a case of matricide and double filicide on the grounds that the Investigation Officer did not immediately subject her to medical examination to determine the accused's mental soundness.

Dispute the fact that no medical examination was conducted, this comes after a slew of evidence and overwhelming factors in the investigation raised reasonable doubts about the accused's mental state.

Accused Lalitha filed an appeal, challenging the conviction and sentence imposed by the Sessions Judge under Sections 302 and 309 of the Indian Penal Code for the alleged murder of her mother and two minor daughters.

 Adv P.K. Varghese, who represented the appellant, claimed that the investigation was flawed because no inquiry into her mental state was conducted despite evidence that she had received treatment for mental problems. He argued that this qualified her for the exception and, as a result, acquittal.

Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice M. R. Anitha observed that, although the burden of proving that the accused was legally insane at the time of commission of the offence was vested on the accused u/s.105 of the Evidence Act, the accused failed to discharge the onus of proving her unsoundness of mind at the time of commission of the offence.

The evidence presented at trial only established that the accused had received treatment for delusional disorder four years prior to the incident and schizophrenia one year later. There… Continue Reading...


Tagged: kerala high court  
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