Section 84 Plea - A Recipe for Disaster in the Indian Criminal Justice System

Buddy, I completely disagree with the claim that a Section 84 plea can be a viable defense in certain cases. Section 84 of the IPC says a person who is incapable of judging the nature of their actions or cannot understand the consequences of those actions due to a mental disorder, is not criminally responsible for the same. But, does this really work in practice? Not on your life! In Ritesh Sinha vs State of Bihar (1986), the SC held that insanity is not just about the lack of ability to form mens rea, but also about the level of understanding the accused had about their actions. In most cases, the prosecution will prove the accused understood their actions even when suffering from a mental disorder. I mean, have you seen the evidence in the Chaman Lal case? Forget about it, the prosecution's got a rock-solid case every single time.