DEFENCE OF INSANITY IN INDIA AND ENGLAND: COMPARATIVE LEGAL PARADIGM

Abstract The law of insanity provides protection to persons with insanity. It plays a vital role in giving protection from criminal liability to such persons who cannot understand the nature of their acts due to their insanity. The basis of law of insanity lies in the maxim “Actus non facit riem, nisi men sit rea” which means that no man can be proved guilty unless he has guilty mind. Whenever an insane person commits crime due to the effect of his insanity he does not have a guilty mind to understand that what he is doing is something prohibited by law. Thus in such a situation, the insane persons stands in a position which is even worse than that of an infant. The considerable population of the world comprises of people with mental abnormalities. Though the essence of defence of insanity can be traced back to the ancient times but the present day law on this is based on the M’Naghten Rule. The English criminal law system has adopted the M’Naghten Rule the way it is. The Indian criminal law system has laid down the defence of insanity under section 84 of Indian Penal Code. This defence is based on the M’Naghten Rule but there are some differences. Therefore this paper will critically discuss the law relating to the defence of insanity under the English criminal law system and the Indian criminal law system and will examine the similarities and differences in both the laws.