# JAi LAL v. DELHI ADMINISTRATION

- **Citation:** [1969] 1 S.C.R. 140
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1968-04-30
- **Case number:** CRIMINAL APPELLATE JuRISD!CT!ON: C~inal Appeal No. 38 of 1965
- **Bench:** R. S. Bachawat, A. N. Grover
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/jai-lal-v-delhi-administration-4352
- **Pages:** 5

## Headnote

Indian Penal Code, 1860 s. 84--Scope of.
From 1958 the appellant was a Railway employee and often lost his
temper and had altercations with other clerks in the office. In October
1960 he was found to be suffering from a mental illness as he exhibited
>ymptoms of acute schizophrenia and showed disorder of thought, emolion and perception of external realities.
He was treated for and
was
cured of .:his illness by July 1961 when he resumed his duties.
On the
morning of November 25, he went to offiee as usual but as he was late
in attendance. he was marked absent. He applied ii> writing for one
day's casual leave and returned home.
No one noticed any symptoms
of any mental disorder at that time.
Just af.ter 1 o"clock he entered his
ncighbour's hou'e and stabbed and killed a girl H year old and later also
stabbed and injured two other persons v.ith a knife. -He was thereafter
arrested and interrogated on the satne day when ho gave normal and
intelligent ansy,·crs.
Aftcr his arn.-st and upon a medical examination.
the appellant was declared to be lunatic though not violent and the psychiatrist found that be bad had a relapse of schizophrenia. On September
6, 1962, he wa.• reported a.• cured and was thereafter committed for trio!
in February 1963.
The trial court comicted him
under ss.
302 and
32~ of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
During the trial and in the subsequent appeal :o the High Court, the
defence pica was one of insanity which was concurrently rejected by both
Courts.
On appeal to this Court by special leave.
HELD ; dismissing the appeal :
The appellant wa.s not insane at the time of the killin~ and stabbing
and knew the consequences of his
acts.
He must therefore be
held
criminally responsible for his acts. [ 144 in
To establish that the acts done were not offences under s. 84 it must
be proved clearly that at the time of the commission of the acts the appellant. by reason of unsoundness of mind, was incapable of knowing that the
acts were either morally \VTOng or contrary to la\\'. There was clear evidence that on the morning of November 25 the appellant's mjnd was normal
and also that he knew that his act of stabbing and killing was conlrary to
law.
He concealed the weapon of offence.
He bolted the front door of
his house to prevent arrest.
He then tried to run away by the back door.
When an a-acmpt \\'as made to apprehend him he :an back to his house and
bloted the door. He then tried to disperse the cr""1d l>y throwing brickbats
from the roof.
His conduct immediately after t.e occurrence displayed
consciousness of his guilt. [143 F; 144 D-E]
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JuRISD!CT!ON: C~inal Appeal No.
38 of 1965.
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JAI LAL v. DELHI ADMN. (Bachawat, J.)
141
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Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dat~d
July 28, 1964 of the Punjab High Court (Circuit Bench)
m
Criminal Appeal No. 40-D of 1963.
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H
S. N. Prasad, for the appellant.
H. R. Khanna and S. P. Nayyar, for the respondent.

## Text

JAi LAL
v.
DELHI ADMINISTRATION
April 30, 1968
[R. S. BACHAWAT AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.]
Indian Penal Code, 1860 s. 84--Scope of.
From 1958 the appellant was a Railway employee and often lost his
temper and had altercations with other clerks in the office. In October
1960 he was found to be suffering from a mental illness as he exhibited
>ymptoms of acute schizophrenia and showed disorder of thought, emolion and perception of external realities.
He was treated for and
was
cured of .:his illness by July 1961 when he resumed his duties.
On the
morning of November 25, he went to offiee as usual but as he was late
in attendance. he was marked absent. He applied ii> writing for one
day's casual leave and returned home.
No one noticed any symptoms
of any mental disorder at that time.
Just af.ter 1 o"clock he entered his
ncighbour's hou'e and stabbed and killed a girl H year old and later also
stabbed and injured two other persons v.ith a knife. -He was thereafter
arrested and interrogated on the satne day when ho gave normal and
intelligent ansy,·crs.
Aftcr his arn.-st and upon a medical examination.
the appellant was declared to be lunatic though not violent and the psychiatrist found that be bad had a relapse of schizophrenia. On September
6, 1962, he wa.• reported a.• cured and was thereafter committed for trio!
in February 1963.
The trial court comicted him
under ss.
302 and
32~ of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
During the trial and in the subsequent appeal :o the High Court, the
defence pica was one of insanity which was concurrently rejected by both
Courts.
On appeal to this Court by special leave.
HELD ; dismissing the appeal :
The appellant wa.s not insane at the time of the killin~ and stabbing
and knew the consequences of his
acts.
He must therefore be
held
criminally responsible for his acts. [ 144 in
To establish that the acts done were not offences under s. 84 it must
be proved clearly that at the time of the commission of the acts the appellant. by reason of unsoundness of mind, was incapable of knowing that the
acts were either morally \VTOng or contrary to la\\'. There was clear evidence that on the morning of November 25 the appellant's mjnd was normal
and also that he knew that his act of stabbing and killing was conlrary to
law.
He concealed the weapon of offence.
He bolted the front door of
his house to prevent arrest.
He then tried to run away by the back door.
When an a-acmpt \\'as made to apprehend him he :an back to his house and
bloted the door. He then tried to disperse the cr""1d l>y throwing brickbats
from the roof.
His conduct immediately after t.e occurrence displayed
consciousness of his guilt. [143 F; 144 D-E]
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JuRISD!CT!ON: C~inal Appeal No.
38 of 1965.
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
,
JAI LAL v. DELHI ADMN. (Bachawat, J.)
141
A
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dat~d
July 28, 1964 of the Punjab High Court (Circuit Bench)
m
Criminal Appeal No. 40-D of 1963.
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
S. N. Prasad, for the appellant.
H. R. Khanna and S. P. Nayyar, for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Bachawat, J.-The Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi,
convicted the appellant under sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code and
sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life.
The Judge also
convicted the appellant under sec. 324 of the Indian Penal Code,
sentenced him to undergo six months rigorous imprisonment and
directed that the two sentences would
run concurrently. An
appeal was filed in the High Court of Punjab. The High Court
dismissed the appeal. The appellant has filed this appeal after
obtaining special leave.
The appellant lives at Sat Nagar in Delhi. On November 25,
1961 at 1.45 p.m. he entered the house of his neighbour Somawati and stabbed her daughter Leela aged 1 t years with a knife.
He inflicted five stab wounds, one on the back trunk, one on the
right gluteal region, two on the right thigh and one on the chest.
The injury on the back of trunk, proved fatal.
Leela died in
the hospital at 4 p.m. The appellant then returned to his house
and bolted the front door.
A crowd collected near the front
door and raised an alarm. After some time the appellant went
out by the back door and stabbed another neighbour Parbati and
then Raghubir who tried to intervene on her behalf.
The injuries were simple incised wounds
Rabhubir and others tried to
apprehend him. He then ran back to his house, bolted the door
and started throwing brickbats from the roof.
He was
later
arrested by the police. All these facts are proved by unimpeachable evidence.
One Dhani Ram was the father of Leela. Dhani Ram, his wife
Somawati, his daughter Leela and his brother Baburam lived together in the same house.
Indra is the appellant's sister.
The
app~llan~ al!d his father suspected that Baburam was prone to
makmg ilhctt approac!Jes to Indra. On this account, the appellant had a long standing grudge against Baburam. This enmity
is said to be the mo~ve of the attack by the appellant on Leela,
a member of the family of Baburam. The motive for the attack
on Parbati is not clear. Raghubir was attacked because he tried
to intervene.
The defence plea was of insanity.
The Additional Sessions
Judge and the High Court concurrentlv reiected this defence.
142
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969) I S.C.R.
We may briefly notice the evidence bearing on the plea of insanity.
Since 1958 the appellant was an employre in the Stores
Branch of the Northern Railway Headquarters in Baroda House.
New Delhi.
In 1958 and 1959 he had altercations with other
clerks in the office.
On May 20, 1959 his superior officer observed that he was prone to lose temper in no time. In his moments of excitement. he became dangerous and used to hit his
co!leagues with anything that he could lay his hands on.
But at
the time of his greatest excit.,ment he could distinguish betwe.cn
right and wrong.
After May 1959 he worked at his desk as a
nonnal man.
In March 1960 he again quarrelled with another
clerk. He was suspended and sent for medical examination. At
this stage he was suffering from mental illness.
On October 12.
I 960 he was examined bv
a psychiatrist who found
that
be
exhibited symptoms of acute schizophrenia and showed disorder
of thought. emotion and perception of external
re:1lities.
The
psychiatrist said that he was harbourinir certain delusions.
The
naturr of the delusions is not stat.~d. It is not proved that th·~
appellant suffered from any particular delusion or hallucination.
The appellant was put on a drug named largactil and w:Ls given
convulsive electrn-therapy treatment.
On January 12. 1961 he
was cured of his illness and was advised to join his duties. On
resuming his duties the 3ppcllant worked in the office in the normal manner.
There is some evidence that on the morning of November 25.
1961 and the prccedin!! night, the appellant complained that he
was unwell and took medicine.
But on the morning of November 25, he went to his office as usual.
He was late in attendance
and wa.s marked absent. He applied in writing for one day's casual
leave stating that he had an urgent piece of work at home. Nobody noticed any symptoms of mental disorder at that time. He
left the office at abcut 11.30 a.m. and returned home alone.
At
1.45 p.m. he stabbed Leela. Parhati and Raghubir with a knife.
He concealed the knife and a search for it has proved fruit!=.
At 2.45 p.m. the investigating officer arrived on the spot, arrested
tho appellant and interrogated him.
He wa.s then found nomial
and gave intelligent answers.
On the same date he was produ~
before a Magistrate.
His brother was then present but the Mapstrate was not infonned that he was insane.
On November 27.
he was interrogated by an Inspector.
It does not appear that be
was then insane.
On November 30, the appellant's brother filed an application
before the committing magistrate stating that the appellant was
insane at the time of the occurrence. The appellant was. l~ter
remanded to judicial custody. On receipt of another apphcatmn
from his brother he was kept under medical observation fi:om
December 16 to December 23. On December 19 the mcd1cal
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JAI LAL V. DELHI ADMN. (Bachawat, /.)
143
officer noted that the appellant was indifferent to his surrounding'
and personal cleanliness, preoccupied iu his thoughts muttering
to himself, making meaningless gestures, losing track of conversations, given to delayed and repetitive answers and unable to give
detailed account of incidents leading to his arrest.
On December 23, he was declared to be a lunatic though not violent. The
psychiatrist noted that the appellant had a relapse of schizophrenia and was suffering from disorder of thought, emotion and
loss of contact with realities.
From his attitude and manner of
talk he was found to be aggressive. On September 6, 1962 the
psychiatrist reported that the appellant was cured and was in a
position to understand proceedings in court.
The commitment
order'was made on January 4, 1963. The trial started in February 1963. The appellant was sane at_the time of the trial.
The group of aihnents dubbed schizophrenia is discussed in
James D. Page's Abnormal Psychology, Ch. XI, pages 236 to
261 and Modi's Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, 14th ed.,
pages 349 to 401.
Schizophrenia is a general term referring to
a group of severe mental disorders marked by a splitting or disintegra!ion, of the personality. The most striking clinical features
include general psychological disharmony, emotional impoverishment, dilapidation of thought processes, absence of social rapport,
delusions, halluc'nations and peculiarities of conduct.
The question is whether the appellant is criminally responsible for the acts done on November 25, 1961. Section 84 of the
Indian Penal Code says :-
·
"Nothing is an offence which is done by a person
who, at the time of doing it, by reason of unsoundness
of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act,
or that he is doing what is either wrong or contrary to
la\¥."
·
To establish that the acts done ar' not offences under sec. 84 it
must be proved clearly that at the time of the commission of the
act the appellant by reason of unsoundness of mind was incapable
of either knowing that the acts were either morally wrong or
contrary to law.
The question is whether the appellant was
suffering from such incapacity. at the time of the commission of
the acts. On this question, the state of his mind before and after
the crucial time is relevant.
There is evidence of a medical
character that between October 12, 1960 and January 12, 1961
he was suffering from schizophrenia.
He was completely cured
of this disease on January 12, 1961 when he resumed his normal
duties.
He had another attack of this disease in the middle of
December 1961.
The attack lasted till September 1962 when
he was found to be normal again.
But it is to be observed that
the defence witnesses do not say that even during these two periods
the appellant was incapable of discriminating between right and
144
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] I S.C.R.
wrong or of knowing the physical nature of the acts done by
him. -
After the appellant was cured of the disease on January
12.
1961 he was found to be normal.
He had a highly strung temperament and was easily excitable. But there is positive evidence
that even at the moment of his greatest excitement he could distinguish between right and wro11g.
From
January
12,
upto
November 24, 1961 he attended his office and discharged
his
duties in a nonnal manner.
On the morning of November 25.
1961 his mind was normal.
He went to and from his office all
alone.
He wrote a sensible application askinl! for casual leave
for one day.
At 1.45 p.m. he stabbed and killed a child and
soon thereafter he stabbed two other persons.
On bis arrest soon
after 2.45 p.m. he gave- nonnal and intelligent answer.< to th~
investigating officers.
'\/othin!! abnormal in him was noticed till
Dcccm bcr 16, 1961.
The thing in farnur of the appellant is that though he had
a motive for attacking Baburam, no clear motive for attacking
the child Lecia or Parbati is discernible.
But there is clear evidence to show that he knew that his act of stabbing and killiJ1~
W'1.~ wrong and contrary to law.
He concealed the weapon ;if
offence. The knife could not be recovered in spite of searches.
He bolted the front door of his house to prevent arrest. He then
tried to run away by the back door.
When an attempt was made
to apprehend him he ran back to his house and bolted the door.
He then tried to disperse the crowd by throwing brickbats from
the roof.
Jfo conduct immediately after the occurrence displays
consciousness of his guilt. He knew the physical nature of stabbing.
He knew that the stabbing would
kill
and
maim
his
victims.
011 a compwhensive review of the entire evidence the
two courts below concurrently found that the defence of insanity
under sec. 84 was not made out.
We arc unable to sa\· that !he
verdict of the courts below is erroneous.
-
If a pcrwn by reason of unsoundness of mind is incapable or
knowin~ the nature of the act or that he is doing what is either
wrong nr contrary to law he cannot be guilty of any
criminal
intent. Such a person Jacks the requisite mens rca and is entitled
to an acquittal.
But it is not established in the present case that
the appellant was suffering from this incapacity.
The
general
burden is on the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt
not onlv the actus rrus but also the mens rca. The r1'l1'Ccution
satisfactorily dischar)!ed this burden.
The appellant was not in-
.sane at the time of the killin~ and stabbin~ and he knew the
consequences of those acts.
We must hold that he is criminally
responsible for the acts.
In the result. the appeal is dismissed.
R.K.P.S.
Appeal dismissed.
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