In Brief
Prakash Nayi attacked a store worker with an iron plate and was convicted of murder by trial and high courts. On appeal, the Supreme Court acquitted him under Section 84 of the IPC (act of a person of unsound mind). The appellant had been hospitalized for schizophrenia before the incident and prescribed anti-psychotic medication. Although expert evidence was recorded years later, the court found credible evidence of prior treatment and noted the appellant later became fit to stand trial—itself indicating prior insanity. The courts below had wrongly focused on the heinous nature of the act while ignoring medical evidence and applying the wrong burden of proof. The Supreme Court held that legal insanity (not mere medical insanity) is the test, and proof must meet only a preponderance of probability standard. The appellant's full recovery and social integration further supported acquittal.
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