Plea of Insanity as A Defence: Analysis of Jurisprudence in Pakistan

Abstract

The widespread issue of rising incarceration is attributed to a number of factors, including a shortage of mental health services and hospitals, legal and social attitudes and stigmas, and a general lack of concern for the needs and rights of mentally-ill persons. The criminal justice system is trending away from rehabilitation and toward brutal, ignorant, and illegal imprisonment tactics. The current Pakistani legal system only recognizes insanity as a defense if the defendant was insane at the time the crime was committed; it does not take into account insanity during the phases of arrest, prosecution, and punishment. This paper aims to explain Pakistan's legal and procedural framework for people with mental illnesses. It will analyze international fair trial principles and standards that govern detention conditions, access to justice, and the right to medical care in the criminal justice system.

Keywords: Insanity, M’cnaghton Rule, Inalienable Rights, Criminal Lunatic, Lunatic Trial