Nikhil Chandra Halder v State
Reference : 54 DLR 148
Jurisdiction : Bangladesh
Appellant : Nikhil Chandra Halder
Respondent : The State
Facts :
The victim, Happy Rani Halder, was having her afternoon meal when her neighbour Nikhil Chandra Halder, the accused, suddenly attacked her with a dao (a sharp weapon with a large blade). The victim succumbed to the injuries. When the family members of the victim rushed towards her hearing her cries, they reportedly saw the accused running towards his own house. The accused had locked himself in and the blood-stained dao was found outside his home. When the people broke into the home of the accused through the window and apprehended him, he did not resist. He was handed over to the police.
The accused was charged with murder. However, the accused being insane, was not sound enough to stand trial. The accused was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was subsequently sent to Pabna District Jail for his treatment at the Pabna Mental Hospital. Once the accused was sound enough to stand trial, he was brought before the Sessions Judge, who sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for life. A jail appeal was filed in the High Court Division against this sentence citing that the accused was of unsound mind, and thus, under Section 84 of the Penal Code, he could not be held guilty.
Issues :
1. What is the test of legal insanity subject to Section 84 of the Penal Code?
2. Who bears the burden of proving legal insanity and what is the principle in determining the extent of proof required to qualify someone for the exemption?
Decisions :
The High Court Division remarked that in order to qualify the accused for the exemption from criminal liability due to unsoundness of mind, the burden of proof falls on the accused, and not the prosecution. However, as opposed to the general rule of “proof beyond every reasonable doubt” followed in criminal law, the accused is only required to prove his plea of insanity on the “balance of probabilities” on preponderance or prevalence of evidence. The burden of proof on the accused would be no greater than that on the parties to a civil suit.
However, the Court also criticized the prosecution for their negligence in the investigation as they failed to mention anything regarding the mental condition of the accused at the time of the commission of the act. The Court remarked that in order to get exempted from criminal liability under Section 84, the accused must have been mentally unsound at the time of the commission of the act, not before or after the commission. ABM Khairul Haque J stated, ❝The legal test as laid down by section 84 requires that the accused at the time of committing the crime was in such a state of mind, so much so, that he was incapable of knowing the nature of consequence of his act or that what he was doing was either wrong or contrary to law.❞
There was no concrete evidence proving that Nikhil Chandra Halder was insane at the time of committing the act, as the degree of brutality alone was not enough to prove someone legally insane. However, the records of his previous cases of insanity, subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia, and the nonchalant behaviour of the accused were deemed sufficient by the Court to prove his legal insanity.
Thus, the Court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove mens rea beyond every reasonable doubt and acquitted the accused. The Court also ordered the accused to be detained in a mental hospital for his treatment.
Relevant Law :
- The Penal Code, 1860
- Section : 84
- The Evidence Act, 1872
- Section : 105
- The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
- Section : 471(1)
- The Lunacy Act, 1912 (Repealed)
- Sections : 3(4) & 24
Author :
1. S.M. Monzur Morshed
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