The allegations against the appellant had been that on 03.05.2009, he took his two sons, aged about 9 years and 6 years, to Haiderpur Canal, strangulated them, and threw the dead bodies into the canal; and thereafter, attempted to project as if it were a case of accidental drowning. It was also alleged that the appellant was a drunkard, who doubted the chastity of his wife and suspected that the children were not his sons

  • The evidence on record, taken as a whole, at the most shows that the appellant was addicted to alcohol and was admitted to the rehabilitation centre for de-addiction. However, there is absolutely nothing on record to show that the appellant was medically treated as a person of unsound mind or was legally required to be taken as a person of unsound mind.
  • It is also noticed that the plea of unsoundness of mind and, therefore, the benefit of Section 84 IPC, was never taken in the trial nor any evidence was led in this regard

Held, it is also noteworthy that contrary to even a trace of want of mental capacity of the appellant at the time of commission of the crimes in question, the manner of commission, with strangulation of the children one by one; throwing of their dead bodies into the canal; appellant himself swimming in the canal and coming out; and immediately thereafter, stating before several persons that the children had accidentally slipped into the canal so as to project it as a case of accidental drowning, if at all, show an alert and calculative mind, which had worked with specific intent to cause the death of the children and to cause disappearance of evidence by throwing dead bodies into the canal and thereafter, to mislead by giving a false narrative. By no logic and by no measure of assessment, the appellant, who is found to have carried all the aforesaid misdeeds, could be said to be a person of unsound mind. Para 75. The appellant’s case does not fall under any of the exceptions contained in Section 300 IPC ; Section 84 IPC not available.

[Prem Singh v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2023) 3 SCC 372]

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