A 72-year-old insane man, who murdered his wife and then attempted to commit suicide, was today acquitted by a Delhi court which held he was not aware of his actions.
Now, he has been ordered to be shifted to a specialised behavioural institute for his treatment here.
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau held that though accused Brij Mohan has been proved to have killed his wife Pushpa (70) and then attempted to commit suicide by consuming a corrosive substance, yet "in view of the fact that it stands established from his medical record that at the time of the incident, the accused by the reason of unsound mind was incapable of knowing the nature of his act or that what he was doing was wrong on contrary to law."
The court acquitted the senior citizen saying "he did not know what he was doing".
The judge, however, did not release Mohan saying it was not safe for him and for others as earlier also, being afflicted by psychiatric ailments, he had tried to harm himself and others when he killed his wife and destroyed the property by burning the temple in his house.
"Under the given circumstances, I feel that Mohan cannot be set free since he may pose danger to his other family members, friends and public and also to himself. Hence, in the interest of justice, he is directed to be shifted to Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS)...
"His custody is handed over to Director, IHBAS for providing treatment for his mental ailments till such time he is found to be a person of sound mind and capable of managing himself and his affairs and would no longer create a substantial risk of bodily injury to himself or to another person or damage to property of another," the court said.
In its judgement, the court also discussed provisions of the proposed amendment in sub section (1) of Section 124 of Mental Health Bill, 2013, apparently seeking to decriminalise attempt to suicide by creating a presumption in favour of the person who attempts to commit suicide to the extent that he at the time of attempting suicide was suffering from mental illness, unless the contrary is proved.
