Examining the Efficacy of Plea of Insanity in Criminal Cases of Pakistan

Abstract

Plea of insanity is a defense taken by accused in the court of law admitting the unlawful act done by him with the argument that the reason of the offence lies behind certain mental illness. Insanity defense renders a vital role in Pakistan’s legal system by excusing people with mental incapacity and psychological maladjustment to come up with lack of capacity concerning criminal culpability. However, the acceptance of this doctrine in Pakistan has been scrambled. This paper revisits the substantial, procedural, and evidential law on the plea of insanity in criminal cases of Pakistan coupled with consideration of the judgments and prudence of the criminal courts. This examination investigates the extent of interpretation and acceptance of insanity defense in criminal courts of Pakistan through a subjective and qualitative study. Keeping in view the challenges faced by litigants, cultural dynamics towards psychological instability, the aim of this study is to procure deeper understanding of insanity defense and highlighting the key areas for development to make law enforcement framework more aligned to the restrictions imposed on people with psychological instability. 

Keywords: Insanity, Insanity Defense, Pakistan Penal Code1860, Medical

Insanity, Legal Insanity, Criminal Law, Actus rea, Mens rea, Mental disorder.