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TMI Blog1972 (8) TMI 147X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to the said application, a similar application was again addressed to the Magistrate on June 3, 1970. To this application were annexed three medical certificates by Dr. B. N. Sur, Dr. Pathak and Dr. K. P. Singh respectively dated May 10, 1970, May 15, 1970 and May 9, 1970 all the three certifying that even as a medical student the appellant had shown signs suggesting unsoundness of mind. In the meantime the case was transferred to the Court of the District Magistrate, Bilaspur. On September 11, 1970, the appellant's advocate once again filed an application for medical check up setting out therein various instances displaying abnormal and strange conduct on the part of the appellant right from his student days, as also during the proceedings in the Court on August 31, 1970 when the appellant, amongst other things, proclaimed that he was Lord Vishnu and the ruler of Delhi. By his order dated September 23, 1970, the Magistrate rejected the application stating that he had no reasons to doubt the appellant's sanity and decided to proceed with the committal proceedings. In this order the Magistrate cited an application made by the appellant on July 26, 1970 for remitting to his m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... istant Professor of Psychistry , both of whom advised the appellant's admission to a mental hospital for further examination since a final opinion could only be given on the basis of psychological tests done by a qualified clinical psychologist with a trained and experienced nursing staff. 4. The recommendations contained in these reports were not carried out. The appellant, therefore, through his brother, filed an application in the High Court Under Section 561A of the Code praying for implementation of the order of Rangarajan, J. By its order dated March 30, 1971, the High Court observed that the said committal proceedings were pending for a considerable time, and referring to the said order of Rangajaran, J., observed that it was not for the High Court to intervene at an interlocutory stage and that in any event the Snowdown Hospital had examined the appellant as directed by Rangarajan, J., and made its report, and that therefore, nothing further remained to be done. The High Court ordered that that report should go to the committing Magistrate and it would be for that Magistrate to decide what order should be passed on the case. The High Court further observed that it wa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 464, Criminal Procedure Code, is to be determined by the Trial Court . On that understanding of the order the Magistrate rejected the application and proceeded to record the evidence of the prosecution witnesses. Next day, the Magistrate passed an order committing the appellant to the Sessions Court to stand his trial on the said charge Under Section 303 of the Penal Code. 6. The appellant filed once more a revision application before the Sessions Court challenging the said order of commitment. The Sessions Court rejected that application holding that the Magistrate has sufficient grounds to infer that there were no reasons to believe that the appellant was of unsound mind, and that therefore, he was not in a position to make his defence and accordingly it was not incumbent upon the Magistrate to hold a preliminary inquiry Under Section 464. Aggrieved by the said order, the appellant filed a revision application before the High Court challenging the validity of the said committal order. The High Court recited the several applications filed on behalf of the appellant, the said order of Rangarajan, J., the two orders passed by Beg, C.J., and finally, the order of commitment and th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at the Magistrate has to do is to decide, when an accused person is brought before him who is suspected or alleged to be a person of unsound mind and before he proceeds with the inquiry, whether such person appears to him to be of unsound mind. The words reason to believe indicate that when an accused person is presented before a Magistrate for inquiry, who, it is alleged, is suffering from unsoundness of mind, the magistrate has, on such materials, as are brought before him, to inquire before he proceeds with the inquiry whether there are reasons to believe that the accused before him is suffering from any such infirmity. The next step is that if he has such reasons to believe, he is to institute an inquiry into the fact of unsoundness of mind and cause him to be examined by the civil surgeon or such other medical officer as the State Government directs. Therefore, when a question is raised as to the unsoundness of mind of an accused person, the magistrate is bound to inquire before he proceeds with the inquiry before him whether the accused is or not incapacitated by the unsoundness of mind from making his defence. Such a provision clearly is in consonance with the principles o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t carried out and although the Magistrate did not have any definite opinion one way or the other before him, he decided to proceed with the inquiry. The result was that the accused was obliged once again to go to the Sessions Court and then to the High Court for redress against the course adopted by the Magistrate. The High Court took up the attitude that it should not intervene at an interlocutory stage, that the matter should be left to the discretion of the Magistrate to decide whether he should hold the inquiry or not Under Section 464, and that in any event Rangarajan, J., had not ordered that the appellant to be shifted to a mental hospital for a further examination, his order having been confined to his examination by Snowdown Hospital, which order had been complied with. 9. It is not possible to agree with such an interpretation of the order passed by Rangarajan, J. It seems that that learned Judge ordered the examination of the accused by the Snowdown Hospital because he was apparently under the impression that that hospital has the necessary facilities, including that of keeping the appellant under observation and to come to some definite opinion. He would not have oth ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at order did not direct and could not have directed the Magistrate to proceed with the committal proceedings without first determining whether on the allegations made by the accused, the data produced by him and the conduct and behavior of the appellant in his Court, the Magistrate had reasons or not to believe that the appellant was suffering from mental infirmity of the kind Envisaged by Section 464. That we apprehend was never done as is clear from the very order passed by the Magistrate nor was appellant called upon to show that he was suffering at that stage from unsoundness of mind which he ought to have been called upon to establish since the burden was upon him to so establish. The words reason to believe mean a belief which a reasonable person would entertain on facts before him. That would be the burden which the appellant would be expected to discharge. That was the proper course for the Magistrate to follow, both in view of the provisions of Section 464 and the orders passed by Beg, C.J., besides the report of the Superintendent of the Snowdown Hospital that before a definitive view could be taken of the mental state of the appellant he would have to be kept under obs ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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